The president of the Colombian energy group Ecopetrol, Ricardo Roa, proposed on Thursday to the Ministry of Mines and Energy to relax the current regulations to sell gas blocks for 10 years that would allow increasing fuel production and addressing shortages due to increased consumption. to future.
Roa assured that the Antonio Ricaurte gas pipeline to import gas from Venezuela to Colombia, one of the alternatives to meet the demand, could be enabled between 10 and 14 months, although authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury is needed. from the United States.
The South American country of 50 million inhabitants is busily looking for alternatives to meet an increase in gas demand amid a reduction in its reserves and production.
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Ecopetrol estimates that Colombia could face a deficiency equivalent to 8% of daily gas consumption in 2025, some 83 GBTUD, which would require measures to increase supply.
“We also need regulation and flexibility from the Ministry (of Mines and Energy) to be able to sell gas blocks ranging from 145 to 280 giga BTU per day for 10 years,” the official told reporters in the Caribbean city of Cartagena.
“That is a very important signal in terms of providing long-term availability for the gas that the marketers need and for the gas that the industry needs for the coming years,” he explained.
Gas reserves, a key fuel for President Gustavo Petro’s ambitious energy transition, fell by 15.76% in 2023 to 2,373 gigacubic feet, equivalent to 6.1 years of consumption, the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) revealed in May.
The Petro Government wants to wean the South American country from its dependence on fossil fuels, in favor of a shift towards renewable energy options, although oil and coal represent a large part of Colombia’s income from taxes, royalties and exports.
The president of Ecopetrol assured that the import of gas from Venezuela could provide Colombia with between 35 and 50 million cubic feet per day in the first year, a figure that could increase to about 150 million cubic feet per day about 18 months later.
Roa also said that it is necessary to mature and connect some onshore gas projects that could provide up to 30 million cubic feet per day in 10 years.
With information from Reuters
