Colombia lays out plan to expand natural gas... - BNamericas English
Colombia lays out plan to expand natural gas import capacity - BNamericas
Colombia lays out plan to expand natural gas import capacity
Bnamericas Published: Monday, February 12, 2024
Colombia will need to increase its natural gas import capacity by up to 680Mf3/d (million cubic feet a day) within six years to avoid potential shortages of the fossil fuel, a new government report warns.
Additional supply could come via an expansion of the SPEC regasification terminal in Cartagena, new LNG import infrastructure on the Atlantic coast, piped imports from Venezuela and the long-mooted Pacific LNG project, according to the latest version of Colombia's 15-year natural gas supply plan.
"These strategic measures seek to improve reliability and supply to main demand nodes located in the interior, which is observed to be deficient and with risks of potential rationing due to declining supply and growing demand," the report said.
Cartagena
Colombia's only existing gas import infrastructure is the 400Mf3/d-capacity SPEC terminal.
SPEC's majority shareholder, Promigas, last year called for non-binding expressions of interest in potential future offtake from the facility, which began operating in 2016.
"Considering the potential national supply deficit, it would be necessary to expand the import capacity from Cartagena by no less than 130Mf3/d, which would be available to all consumer sectors from the first quarter of 2027," the document states.
Atlantic
The report, published by energy ministry planning unit UPME, identified a need to "diversify and expand" import capacity on or near the Atlantic coast with direct connection to the SNT national pipeline network.
The new infrastructure would provide 50-150Mf3/d of additional supply starting in the first quarter of 2025.
It added that the imports could be secured via public or private regasification initiatives or the proposed reopening of a binational pipeline with Venezuela.
Pacific LNG
The plan also raised the prospect of reviving the proposed Pacific LNG regasification plant in Buenaventura.
Two tenders for the project, which comprises a 400Mf3/d regasification terminal with storage capacity of 170,000m3/d and an associated pipeline, have failed to attract interest from investors.
But UPME suggested that a new bidding process would be necessary by the end of the decade to serve consumers in Colombia's southwestern region.
Capacity could be reduced to 150Mf3/d if new sources are secured from the Atlantic coast, through offshore exploration projects, UPME said.
Deficit fears
Since taking office in 2022, President Gustavo Petro has kept a promise to stop issuing new oil and gas exploration licenses in a bid to wean the country off fossil fuels.
The government says that future gas demand can be met with production from existing projects, particularly a slew of areas off the Caribbean coast, in which Ecopetrol, Petrobras, Shell and Chevron are among the stakeholders.
But the policy has drawn stern criticism from the local hydrocarbons sector and Petro's political opponents.
The UPME report warned that rising gas demand and shrinking reserves could lead to a deficit as soon as 2027 if new supply sources are not secured.
The full report, in Spanish, can be seen by clicking on the link in the top-right corner of the screen.
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