Leveraging gas for Colombia’s energy security

Colombia

As Colombia edges closer to an energy crisis, the country is turning to offshore natural gas discoveries in the Caribbean and increased LNG imports, onshore production and LPG use. This four-pronged strategy is meant to meet gas demand and energy security needs in the short term while providing energy sovereignty in the long term.

With dwindling gas reserves and increasing demand, Colombia faces a critical energy challenge. The country’s reserves have been rapidly depleting, with proven oil reserves having dropped by 12.5% and natural gas reserves by a significant 49.5% in 2023 compared to 10 years earlier. As of the end of 2023, the country’s gas reserves stood at 67.9 bcm (2.4 tcf), which is equivalent to only 6.1 years of consumption.
This decline is mainly attributed to two factors. First, the country’s key gas-producing fields – Chuchupa, Ballena, Cupiagua and Cusiana – are mature assets. For example, Chuchupa and Ballena, which have both been prolific gasfields for Colombia, are now more than 50 years old. In 2010, they produced 19.8 mcm (700 mcf) of gas per day, but today their output has dropped to around 2.55 mcm (90 mcf) per day.
Second, local demand for natural gas has risen by an average annual growth rate of 3.7% since 2013, outpacing local supply. According to the Colombian Oil & Gas Association, the country’s natural gas reserves might be unable to meet domestic demand by 2028.
In response, Colombia is pursuing four strategies aimed at securing national energy security: importing gas in the short term, increasing LPG usage, increasing onshore production and putting its impressive offshore gas reserves into production.
The latter two components are seen as vital in the medium term. “In recent years we have had 15 discoveries in continental areas and also offshore, where the greatest potential reserves are located,” Luz Stella Murgas, president of Colombian gas association Naturgas, told The Energy Year. “The development of these discoveries must be a matter of national priority if the country is to maintain gas self-sufficiency.”

STRATEGIC IMPORTS: Given that offshore gas commercialisation is not expected to materialise before the end of the decade, the most immediate strategy Colombia has for addressing its gas needs is to import more LNG. The LNG trade began in 2016 with the opening of Colombia’s only regasification asset, SPEC LNG, and the country is now rapidly upgrading its infrastructure for gas imports.
SPEC LNG’s floating LNG import terminal, located in Cartagena, has been exclusively utilised to supply thermal power plants when hydroelectric facilities fail to meet demand.
However, SPEC LNG is looking to evolve its capabilities to further address the nation’s energy challenges. The company is now evaluating increasing its capacity to 15 mcm (533 mcf) per day by 2027, with an early increase to 13.4 mcm (475 mcf) in 2025. The terminal’s capacity as of 2024 is 11.3 mcm (400 mcf) per day.
Ecopetrol is also focusing on sourcing LNG. The NOC plans to install small to medium-sized floating regasification units on the Pacific coast or in the northeastern region of La Guajira to increase inflows from neighbouring markets.
Another gas import option includes revitalising the 224-kilometre Antonio-Ricaurte pipeline that connects to Venezuela. However, this option comes with various challenges and risks, including the need for heavy maintenance work along the pipeline and a reliance on Venezuela’s hydrocarbons industry, which is currently under US sanctions.
While short-term dependence on international sources is part of its national strategy, Colombia’s goal is to achieve long-term energy sovereignty. “The mix between imported and local gas is going to be temporary until offshore projects hit first gas,” Murgas said. “Then, we will return to self-sufficiency for decades.”

OFFSHORE GAS: Colombia’s major opportunity for meeting and exceeding its gas demand lies in unlocking its vast offshore potential. The Caribbean is seen as a largely untapped gem in the realm of oil and gas, with major finds over the last decade in Guyana, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.
Ecopetrol is spearheading local offshore exploration efforts, with shares in 11 offshore exploration blocks that have estimated reserves of 2.12 tcm (75 tcf). The energy giant planned to invest approximately USD 300 million in its offshore drilling programme in 2024. So far, between 113.2 bcm (4 tcf) and 339.6 bcm (12 tcf) of offshore gas have been discovered in Colombia following the drilling of exploratory and appraisal wells.
Chief among these discoveries includes Colombia’s largest ever gas find at Ecopetrol and Petrobras’s Sirius-2 well at the Gua-Off-0 block in October 2024. The block is believed to contain more than 169.8 bcm (6 tcf) of gas in place, with the two partners planning four production wells at the block with an anticipated average production level of 13.3 mcm (470 mcf) per day for 10 years, which the companies anticipate achieving by 2029 or 2030.
Furthermore, Ecopetrol announced the discovery of two new gas deposits in February 2024 at the Orca-1 well located in the Gua-Off-0 block. Ecopetrol also plans to drill another exploratory well, named Buena Suerte-1, in the block in 2025.
These major discoveries follow a slew of gas finds by Ecopetrol and Shell in the offshore COL-5 block, with the latest discovery announced in October 2023 at the Glaucus-1 well. Ecopetrol predicts that Colombia will begin offshore gas production as early as 2029.

ONSHORE GAS: Ecopetrol is looking to boost production at its onshore assets, which currently produce around 70.3% of the country’s gas output. The NOC has shares in the country’s largest gas plays, including Cusiana and Cupiagua and La Guajira, which represent a large portion of the country’s gas production potential.
Ecopetrol subsidiary Hocol is also expecting to increase yields at its onshore blocks. The company is responsible for around 10.1% of Colombia’s gas production, with its most prolific plays being the Chuchupa and Ballena fields in the La Guajira region and its Bonga-Mamey and Bullerengue fields in the Lower Magdalena Valley Basin. The latter two currently produce 990,500 cubic metres (35 mcf) each per day.
Hocol further declared the commerciality of the Arrecife-1ST, Arrecife-3, Arrecife Norte-1 and Coralino-1 production wells. Potential production in the Arrecife block will be 566,000-849,000 cubic metres (20-30 mcf) per day by 2026. The company also plans to obtain a 50-50 oil and gas production mix and employ oil and gas recovery techniques to stabilise depleting flows at producing assets.
In addition to Ecopetrol’s efforts, independent gas-focused E&P companies are also ramping up production at onshore blocks. Canadian-headquartered NG Energy is currently producing 509,400-566,600 cubic metres (18-20 mcf) of gas per day from its María Conchita field, with plans to increase daily output to 990,500 cubic metres (35 mcf) by 2025.
The company also plans to scale up production at its Sinú-9 block from 1.13 mcm (40 mcf) of gas per day to 3.4 mcm (120 mcf) of gas per day through the drilling of four to five production wells connected to two new gas processing plants and associated pipelines.
In the coming years, NG Energy has set a target of increasing its overall gas production to more than 5.66 mcm (200 mcf) per day. “Not only do we want to be Colombia’s largest gas producer but we also want to be important actors in the country’s quest for gas self-sufficiency and energy security,” Jorge Fonseca, CFO of NG Energy, told The Energy Year.
Similarly, Colombia’s largest independent gas producer, Canacol Energy, which currently produces around 10.8% of the country’s gas, plans to contribute to national energy security by upping production from its 11 gas leases in Colombia. These assets hold prospective resources of around 580.2 bcm (20.5 tcf) of gas.
In September 2024, the company revised its 2024 drilling campaign to include 11 exploration and appraisal wells, which represent investments of around USD 138 million.
In Q1 2024, the firm made two successful discoveries at the Pomelo-1 and Chontaduro-1 wells on its VIM-21 block in the Lower Magdalena Basin. The company expects overall gas sales of 160-177 mcf (4.53-5.01 mcm) per day in 2024, with increased returns in coming years as blocks are developed.

THE RISE OF LPG: A final challenge for Colombia lies in a rising LPG deficit. The country is heavily reliant on gas for cooking, heating and industrial activities, with LPG regularly used across 95% of the national territory.
However, LPG has traditionally consisted of only around 3% of the Colombian energy mix. It is mainly distributed via gas canisters to remote areas, where natural gas networks do not reach, and volumes used exceed 700,000 tonnes per year. The potential for the further penetration of LPG in the market is also high, with around 5.4 million Colombians, or one-tenth of the population, utilising firewood, coal and waste to cook food.
Currently, local LPG supply comes from two main sources. The first is Ecopetrol’s refineries located in Cartagena and Barrancabermeja, and the second is from the Cusiana and Cupiagua gasfields, where LPG is made during the gas drying process.
Around 58% of LPG is supplied by Ecopetrol, with added production from players such as Termoyopal, Parex and PetroSantander. Together, these companies cover around 63-65% of national demand.
The remaining 35-37% is met by imports through two private ports in Cartagena, Okianus Terminals and Plexaport. With declining production from the Cusiana and Cupiagua gasfields, Colombia is expected to increasingly rely on import infrastructure to meet its LPG demand.
To this end, Canadian independent Frontera Energy signed an agreement with Chilean company Empresas Gasco in July 2024 to construct an LPG import and storage facility in the Bay of Cartagena within the cargo terminal of Sociedad Portuaria Puerto Bahía, a subsidiary of Frontera Energy. The project is expected to store up to 20,400 tonnes of LPG, will cost USD 50 million-60 million and is slated to come on line in 2027.
“By 2028, more than half of the LPG Colombian demand will be supplied via imports,” Sergio Corena Guerrero, general manager of Okianus Terminals, told The Energy Year. “Colombia is experiencing a rapid increase in its LPG deficit, and we aim to provide the best solution to cover it.”

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