Colombian bill seeks hike in oil, mine royalties

[Judi Lynn]

Colombian bill seeks hike in oil, mine royalties
Tuesday, 23 November 2010 17:10 Newswires

Two Colombian senators want to hike royalties paid by foreign oil and mining firms with a bill that would put Colombia alongside countries like Venezuela and Australia in seeking a greater state share in resource wealth.

The legislation before Congress was proposed without the backing of President Juan Manual Santos, who has a strong majority among lawmakers. But if passed the bill would be a sharp turn away from Colombia's heavily pro-investment stance.

"What we are saying is that the multinationals are paying very little for royalties. What we want to do is bring those royalties up to international standards," Senator Jaime Duran, a Liberal Party lawmaker, told Reuters.

Without Santos' backing the bill would have little chance of passing the four debates to become law. Santos allies in the U Party, Conservative Party, Cambio Radical and the Liberal parties have a majority in both parliamentary chambers.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/economy/13069-colombian-bill-seeks-hike-in-oil-mine-royalties.html