(Promigas, 2.Mar.2020) — Because of the drought that has been affecting Colombia, reservoir levels have fallen this week to 44% of capacity, which represents a useful hydroelectric generation volume of almost 8,000 gigawatts per hour (GWh). An increase in thermal generation was therefore required, in order to meet the demand for electricity in the country.
In view of this situation, Tebsa, Termocandelaria and Prime Termoflores thermoelectric plants (known as the Thermal Group) have so far this year imported 202,800 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas in four LNG tankers through the regasification terminal in Cartagena belonging to SPEC LNG, a Promigas affiliate, in order to meet the demand for natural gas at those plants and enable them to generate and supply electricity to the country, now that water levels are low.
SPEC LNG has been a fundamental supplier of natural gas to thermoelectric plants and has achieved record regasification figures for a single day of 214 million cubic feet, thereby meeting 20% of the country’s current daily demand for natural gas.
Similarly, Promigas has commissioned a new gas transportation infrastructure expansion project, better known as 100 MPCD, involving investments of around 650,000 million pesos. This consists of two compression stations (Paiva and Filadelfia) and more than 200 kilometers of gas pipeline on the Atlantic coast. Also worthy of note is the El Dique Canal Horizontal Crossing project which, at 3.4 kilometers long, is the longest such crossing in Latin America and the eighth longest in the world.
“Yet again Promigas provides the country with the infrastructure it needs in order to exploit the potential in its natural gas deposits and to guarantee maximum availability of an environmentally-friendly fuel for our thermoelectric plants and industries on the Caribbean coast. These new gas pipelines and compression stations are in addition to the SPEC regasification terminal, and together they illustrate the Promigas commitment to providing the Caribbean region and the whole country with the necessary Energy Security guarantee”, said company President Eric Flesch.
The SPEC LNG terminal is the only port of entry into Colombia for LNG from different sources around the world and was designed to guarantee that the country’s energy system is in line with the thermal generation consumption pattern by ensuring electricity service reliability. SPEC LNG currently has a natural gas regasification capacity of 400 million cubic feet.
Finally, Eric Flesch stated that “the SPEC LNG regasification terminal has been crucial in dealing with this type of situation and meeting the country’s needs through its role as backup for the national energy system. Promigas thus reiterates its commitment to the country by providing the necessary transportation infrastructure for meeting electricity sector demand.”
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