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The constant decline of existing gas fields like those in La Guajira, and a lack of new sources has spelled the end to an expansion of thermal generation plants designed to back up the general electrical grid.

The director of the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) Jorge Pinto Nolla said the entity’s main strategy to supply the market with natural gas is based on regasification plants, and clarified that natural gas appears, it does not just result from a plan.

The outgoing president of the Colombian Natural Gas Association (Naturgas) Eduardo Pizano warned that a series of changes that the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) has made to distrubtion regulation will halt investment. He also gave details on the reasons for his departure from the entity.

GasMinMinas finally released the June production figures for gas and there was yet another monthly decline, the fifth such decline in a row. The graph shows quarterly data which perhaps shows more dramatically how much it has fallen.

Crude production fell below the 900,000bd mark, presenting a 1.79% slide compared to May 2016 to reach 888,000bd, as the government blamed low oil prices for the fallen produ

The president of the Colombian Petroleum Association Francisco Lloreda warned that in addition to the risk of importing crude in 2022, by next year the country will be forced to import natural gas to cover its demand. Venezuela has also said that it is ready to export gas to Colombia.

GasNatural gas market research firm Concentra said that the end of the El Niño weather phenomenon has led to a surplus of gas in the market, and a 7% fall compared to April 2016, with 991Gbtud consumption on average.

After a successful strategy to diversify its production towards gas, Canacol Energy (TSX:CNE) says that it could replace 60% of Colombia’s current natural gas reserves, but to do so infrastructure bottlenecks must be addressed.

The Colombian Association of Natural Gas (Naturgas) has called on the national government to intervene at the Gibraltar gas plant after two indigenous groups blockaded the plant, trapping 19 employees inside for more than a month now, or face shortages in the area.

Last week we did the top 10 oil producers so we thought we would start this week off with the top 10 gas producers and then look at the top 10 combined producers.