Report: Colombia rolls out plans for second LNG regasification facility

Columbia’s depleting gas fields have prompted the development of plans to construct the country’s second 400 mcf per day LNG regasification facility near the Pacific coast. 

Platts reports Colombia’s mining and energy minister, German Arce, as saying that such facility is needed in order to ensure supply reliability in western Colombia.

The country is currently self-sufficient in gas, however, the declining gas reserves could prompt new imports as soon as next year.

Colombia’s first regasification facility near Cartagena is set to start operations before the end of the year, providing natural gas to thermo-electric power plants in northern and central Colombia.

Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao (SPEC) signed a contract in 2014 with Höegh LNG of Norway to hire a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for a period of twenty years.

Höegh LNG has already opened an office in Cartagena to support the contract. The 170.000-cbm Höegh Grace FSRU that is currently serving as an LNG carrier under a contract with Trafigura is expected to arrive in Cartagena in the third quarter. The vessel has a regasification capacity of 500 mmcf/d.

Colombia currently uses about 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day, supplied from its gas fields that are depleting rapidly, and production from offshore fields being developed by state-owned Ecopetrol with Anadarko and Repsol as partners are not expected to start producing before 2022.

The minister has not revealed any dates when the new facility could enter operation, however, Colombia’s mining and energy planning unit UPME told Platts that the probable start is expected before 2024.

Liquefied natural gas to be delivered to the Cartagena facility will be sourced from Trinidad and Tobago as well as the United States, while the second facility could be procuring LNG from Peru or Asian producers.

LNG World News Staff