The state will receive $10 million less in royalties as a result of the September labor strikes by Pacific Rubiales oil workers in the Meta department, Colombia’s Mining and Energy Minister Mauricio Cardenas announced Wednesday.
According to El Espectador, the $10 million will be deducted from the royalties allocated to the Meta department and the municipalities where protests occurred.
Cardenas attributed the loss to the 6.4% drop in Pacific Rubiale’s oil production in September.
Protests over stalled pay negotiations near Puerto Gaitan, in the north of the department, shut down transit routes in and out of the site, stalling production for several days in mid September. At least four people were injured in clashes between police and the oil workers.
Nonetheless, Cardenas maintains the belief that the goal to produce one million barrels of oil per day will be achieved by the end of the year.