Mining and Energy Sector Prepared for Impact of COVID-19

Senior Counsel Inés Elvira Vesga was interviewed by the newspaper Portafolio for an article about the effects of COVID-19 on the mining and energy sector. Companies in this area are uniquely impacted because they are unable to suspend operations completely. Ms. Elvira Vesga explains that because China is both a large consumer and a large producer of petroleum products and because many economies, including China's, are on hold, there is no market to absorb production. The situation is compounded by the fall in oil prices as a result of Russia's decision to break its pact with OPEC and the release of production from Saudi Arabia. Comparing the current situation to when oil prices fell in 2015, she predicts a postponement of non-strategic investments and a decrease in operational and administrative costs, but she adds that companies learned to manage crises and optimize resources then and so are better prepared to handle the crisis now.

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