After a tumultuous few years with protests, tax hikes, soaring violence, and bans on exploration weighing on Colombia’s economically vital oil industry, the inevitable has occurred: Big Oil is abandoning the strife-torn country.
This points towards weaker oil demand going forward, although the prospect of U.S. action reducing Iranian oil exports played some counterbalancing role for prices. On Friday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the federal government was capable of halting oil exports from Iran. “We can follow the ships leaving Iran. We know where they go. We can stop Iran’s export of oil,” Wright said.