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Bogotá.- The Ministry of Mines and Energy will update the regulatory framework with incentives for natural gas imports, in order to guarantee supply in the short and medium term.
According to the document of the Natural Gas Supply Plan 2023-2038, it is estimated that at the beginning of the year 2027 there may be a natural gas deficit, which highlights the need to establish additional supply alternatives in the country.
One of these alternatives is the importation of gas, which according to Upme will be necessary from 2025, to guarantee energy security and the social and economic benefit of the different consumption sectors.
Colombia focused on searching for offshore gas in the Caribbean
It is worth mentioning that between 2022 and 2023, Ecopetrol announced offshore natural gas discoveries, particularly the presence of the Gorgón-1, Uchuva-2 and Glaucus-1 wells, which would increase the potential to supply the national demand for natural gas in the long term.
In addition, the supply of gas in the country became more necessary after the declaration of an insurmountable restriction at Canacol's Jobo well, which reduced the national supply by 76 giga Btud. This insurmountable restriction event was lifted on December 1, 2023, decreasing the amount offered to the market by 50 giga Btud.
Increasing gas imports is necessary in the short term.
According to Ecopetrol, the country has the potential to incorporate new sources of natural gas supply such as: offshore projects in the Caribbean and imports from international markets.
It says that imports are effective in the short and medium term in situations such as the El Niño Phenomenon, while offshore is a structural solution in the medium and long term.
He pointed out that the supply of this fuel must be ensured, and for this purpose, a regulatory framework must be issued to access international markets in a timely manner.
After the recommendations, the Office of Regulatory and Business Affairs of the Ministry of Mines and Energy issued a concept justifying the need to make the amendments to Decree 1073 of 2015 in accordance with international market conditions, which will result in the attention and supply of the demand for natural gas.
In this sense, it recognized that as a consequence of the need to make natural gas supply alternatives viable, the national market must adapt to the international market conditions in order to ensure the acquisition of this energy resource, and its continuous supply to meet the national demand.
Additionally, and as a risk mitigation measure in the event of events of insurmountable restriction of any supply source, it is necessary to establish incentives to increase the supply of imported natural gas.
