Chile has no significant domestic gas production, yet its supply does not hinge on a floating regasification unit (FSRU), a contrast that shows how exposed Colombian industry is, argues Patricio Mura Escobar, general manager of Grupo GasPaís.
Imported gas supplied 39% of Colombia’s natural gas in September, and with a very strong El Niño looming, industrial users are looking for alternatives to secure their energy.
The floating storage unit that will supply Colombia’s Pacific regasification project has arrived in Buenaventura Bay, and large companies are reportedly weighing bids for the venture.
Eni and Repsol are reportedly looking to sell part of their stake in La Perla, Venezuela’s largest gas field, to raise capital for a production expansion.
Colgas, Ecopetrol subsidiary Hocol and the Tierralta municipal government have launched a synthetic natural gas (SNG) network in Tierralta, Córdoba, aimed at replacing firewood for household cooking. SNG is a propane-air mixture, so the town can be served without a link to the national gas transport system.
This should come as a surprise to no one: as domestic production falls, the supply mix shifts to imported gas at more than twice the price of domestic. The average inevitably has to go up.
A global shortage of floating regasification vessels is raising costs and delaying the LNG import projects Colombia is counting on as its domestic gas declines.
Colombia faces a growing natural gas deficit if the projected decline in domestic output continues, and a regasification terminal in La Guajira is central to closing it.
Colombia’s natural gas industry posted across-the-board declines in August, according to figures from industry group Campetrol.
With ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil both having exited Colombia’s fracking sector, Ecopetrol and Drummond Energy are now the clearest contenders to drill the country’s first unconventional well, while GeoPark has signaled interest without yet committing to specific blocks.
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