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The director of the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) Jorge Pinto Nolla defended the regulatory structure around the natural gas industry in an interview, and said that consumers will not suffer price hikes in their energy bill, nor will the industry be left without the essential fuel.

The Minister of Mines and Energy Tomas González and business representatives grouped under the National Business Owners Association (ANDI) in the Caribbean coast have agreed to review the formula and increase in natural gas rates that had been planned for November 30, 2015. It is not the first time that MinMinas has balked on price adjustments due to political outcry.

GasThe conflict over natural gas prices on the Caribbean coast took a new turn when Senator Jose Name said he would lead a charge among Caribbean congressional leaders to vote against an eventual peace accord if the government does not ‘resolve’ gas rate hikes.

The former Vice-Minister and of Energy and former president of the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) Orlando Cabrales has spent less time in public eye since leaving his post last year, but recently penned a critical article on the factors that have led Colombia to a shortage of natural gas.

The arrival of El Niño has added a whole new dynamic to an ongoing debate raging along the Caribbean coast over the price of natural gas, as questions on the long term rates and short term supply alike fill the press.

We have been tracking the debate and discussion on Colombia’s gas supply which is tight now and will likely follow with a deficit in supply in 2016. We noticed yet another entity that has confirms that the cost of gas is on the rise: Colombia’s statistical agency DANE.

Canacol Energy (TSX:CNE) reported its third quarter 2015 results, which showed a sequential increase in production and a fall in costs, but gas production fell sequentially although up year-over-year.

Gases de Occidente says that it is prepared to invest US$50M in a 111km pipeline from Valle del Cauca to Buenaventura to improve the natural gas offer, which will take three years to build, but is still awaiting approval from the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) on its planned rates.

The president of the Colombian Natural Gas Association Eduardo Pizano says that there must be an emphasis on finding new gas to meet the demand, and that without these discoveries it will be impossible to justify more distribution infrastructure.

GasGasThe International Gas Union (IGU) wrapped up its congress in Cartagena, with the issue of supply and price in Colombia being a major issue, but it also called for a greater focus on highlighting the environmental benefits of natural gas over other hydrocarbons.