The Government is getting closer to launching a contingency plan to prevent the country from having to import natural gas in 2026 to supply the demand of industry and homes. The ANH has a first package of measures ready to announce and the industry is calling for action with a sense of urgency.
The projections of the previous Government, the projections of the industry and the projections of the new energy transition roadmap agree on one thing: if there are no changes, Colombia will have to import natural gas in 2026 because the internal supply will not be sufficient. Imported gas is generally more expensive than local gas but it also has the problem that its prices are unstable and unpredictable.
The National Hydrocarbons Agency has an agreement ready that, If there are no unforeseen events, it will be announced next week. The measures have been discussed with the industry and imply that oil companies will not have to return areas after evaluating them, but rather they will be able to continue exploring and developing the same deposits. In addition, the deadline for exploration may be extended as long as the companies propose additional investments to the Government. in exploration.
This could be just the first step of a broader action plan because there are working groups flowing between the industry and different sectors of the Government looking for new ideas to implement.
“We are entering a state of emergency that requires an action plan and a plan of shock so that starting in 2026 this deficit does not have to be replaced with imported natural gas, liquefied gas, but rather that we develop the reserves that we have discovered in 2022 and 2023 mainly in continental areas,” said the president of Naturgas Luz Stella Murgas .
The latest gas discoveries on land include wells such as Dividivi 1, Saxofón 1, Chimela 1, Lulo and Lulo 2, all from the company Canacol in the Caribbean region and Hocol’s Coralino-1 well.
From the industry they hope that a concrete plan regarding gas includes responsible parties and delivery dates and can be included in the energy transition roadmap to guarantee that public entities and private companies do their part by 2026.
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