Colombia would face a gas deficit from 2027, that is, locally produced gas and imported gas through the Cartagena regasification company, Spec, would not be enough to cover local needs at that time.
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This was explained at the time by the then director of the Energy Mining Planning Unit (Upme), Christian Jaramillo, who said that this was one of the reasons that motivated the bidding for the Pacific regasification plant.
In this context, the El Cayao Port Society (Spec) announced that it was carrying out a market study to establish the interest there is in expanding its regasification capacity. Currently this infrastructure has the capacity to regasify 400 million cubic feet per day (Mpcd) and with this it would seek to increase by 50 Mpcd by the end of this year and even by 2026 the capacity could be brought to 530 Mpcd.
According to Alejandro Castañeda, president of Andeg, a union of thermal generators, this would allow extending the term for there to be a deficit, although this will largely depend on how much Spec’s capacity is increased.
(Spec proposes to expand regasification capacity to avoid deficit).
However, the possibility of a deficit led Upme to take out the tender for the second time to build the Regasificadora del Pacífico. In this way, this infrastructure would increase the capacity to process imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) by another 400 million cubic feet per day to meet the demand in the south of the country.
Castañeda explained that there are a series of regulatory challenges for both regasification companies.
In the case of Spec, in 2026 the regulatory terms that specify its remuneration expire.
Currently, 50% of the payment is made by the thermal plants and the other 50% is due to the restrictions of the electrical system. For this reason, they have asked the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (Creg) to take prompt measures to resolve these difficulties and not reach the time limit to establish the mechanism again.
Now, with respect to the Regasificadora del Pacífico, this is a work that has generated a series of objections in the industry. Some of the comments that have been made is that due to its location it would be more expensive, since it requires the construction of a gas pipeline to link the terminal with the system.
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To this, Castañeda adds that the remuneration schemes that clearly specify how its operation will be paid for have not yet been drawn up for this work.
“Although a possible payment scheme came out in the consultation, the Creg has not yet released the necessary regulations”he explained.
All this occurs within the framework of the National Government’s announcement not to grant new oil exploration contracts. This, because according to the Minister of Mines and Energythe offshore resources and the prospective and contingent ones, would allow to have a self-sufficiency even until 2042.
Although the report on which she based herself to establish this data has been questioned, the Minister has indicated that the information presented therein is accurate. Therefore, Castañeda explained that the thermal market, which is the main buyer of gas in the country, is waiting for the report on resources and reserves to be presented by the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) in May.
AFP
This will make it possible to establish the even greater need to import natural gas. So far, several companies have announced gas finds, which could add to existing reserves, increasing the country’s self-sufficiency.
During the second semester of the year, the negotiations of contracts for the purchase of gas are carried out.
“Outside that window you can make small purchases in the secondary market. But once the Total Production of Demand (PTD) is known in May and it crosses with demand so that the contracting can be done ”, pointed out the union leader.
Based on these results, as well as the progress of the expansion of the Spec and regasificadora del Pacífico construction, the thermal generation market as well as other consumers of this gas will be able to act to offset a possible deficit for the coming years.
Spec Expansion Study
At the end of January, the El Cayao Port Society (Spec) launched a market survey in order to find out the interests of actors for an expansion of its regasification capacity.
According to José María Castro, Spec’s manager, those players who want to develop the market and for this require greater natural gas capacity can participate in the process that will be open until February 20.
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