On Friday, Colombian business journal Portafolio
reported that, according to projections from Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol,
the control will not be able to meet its demand for natural gas in 2016 with
domestic production alone. Ecopetrol projects that, in the first quarter of
2016, domestic demand will be 1,331 Gbtu, while the gas on offer will total
just 1,089, coming 18% short of meeting the demand.
Naturgas president Educardo Pizano explained that a surge in
demand from the country’s energy sector created the imbalance.
Alternatives suggested by Pizano and Ecopetrol president Juan Carlos Echeverry
include purchasing surplus gas from Venezuela and authorizing environmental
licenses for natural gas production from existing coalfields.
Last week, oil leaders and experts from around the region met
in Bogotá to discuss options for stimulating the Colombian oil sector.
Francisco Lloreda, president of the Colombian Petroleum Association, stressed
that the country should focus on not just stimulating the oil sector in the
short term, but also on creating a stronger oil industry for long term.
Nonetheless, Colombian vice minister for Energy, Carlos
Eraso, enumerated the various measures undertaken by the Colombian government
in the last year: “lengthening times for the exploratory phase, freeing up
insurance, modifying offshore contracts, and technical regulations for
non-conventional drilling.”
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