Vopak grabs stake in Colombian LNG import facility

Dutch tank storage company Vopak acquired 49 percent shareholding in Sociedad Portuaria el Cayao (SPEC) in Cartagena, Colombia, the country’s only LNG import facility operating since 2016. 

The LNG import facility consists of an LNG jetty, onshore infrastructure and a 9.2 km gas pipeline which connects SPEC to the national gas grid, Vopak said in its statement.

SPEC chartered Höegh LNG’s FSRU Höegh Grace that has the capacity to transport 170,000-cbm of LNG and has a regasification capacity of 500 mmscf/d. The FSRU contract is for twenty years, but includes options for SPEC to reduce the term to five, ten or fifteen years.

SPEC holds long term contracts with three local gas-fired power plants.

Eelco Hoekstra, chairman and CEO of Royal Vopak, said, “This is another growth step in our LNG portfolio and it fits very well in our ambitions to grow and diversify our service offering in LNG.”

Following the acquisition, the shareholders in SPEC are Promigas (51 percent) and Royal Vopak (49 percent).