(Reuters, 2.Oct.2024) — Debate in Colombia over the possibility of importing gas from Venezuela “has been a big distraction” amid concerns about Colombia’s future energy self sufficiency, former minister of mines and energy Tomas Gonzalez said on Wednesday.
Colombia’s government and majority state-owned energy company Ecopetrol have repeatedly floated importing gas from Venezuela, only recently suggesting that it could be more difficult following the neighboring country’s disputed July presidential election.
Earlier this year, Colombia’s National Hydrocarbon Agency reported that the Andean country’s gas proven reserves had fallen to 2.4 trillion cubic feet, equivalent to 6.1 years of consumption.
“We have a very concrete deficit and we need to address that deficit as soon as we can with tangible, concrete and certain solutions, and Venezuela doesn’t offer any of those at this present moment,” Gonzalez, currently director of a local energy think tank, said on the sidelines of the Colombian Petroleum Association’s (ACP) forum on oil, gas and energy.
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Reporting by Oliver Griffin
