Colombia considering Venezuelan gas imports, says top official

Colombian energy minister Irene Vélez has raised the prospect of resuming gas imports from Venezuela as part of wider efforts to guarantee the country's long-term energy security.  

Vélez, named Colombia's top energy official by new President Gustavo Petro last week, said Colombia's existing gas reserves might not satisfy future demand. 

"We have gas reserves for seven to eight years. If we need [to expand] our energy mix, we could make the gas transport connection with Venezuela," Vélez told Blu Radio on Friday. 

"If our reserves are not enough for our self-sufficiency, we'll need solutions, which could be to import from other countries."

Earlier this month, Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB) chief executive Ricardo Ortega raised the possibility of reactivating a 224km pipeline that connects Venezuelan gas fields with transport infrastructure in Colombia's northeast.

The infrastructure has been out of service for almost a decade amid a breakdown in political and economic relations between the neighbors. Petro has already promised to reopen border crossings and normalize diplomacy with the Nicolás Maduro regime. 

Vélez insisted that Petro would not renege on his promise to stop issuing new licenses for oil and gas drilling rights and ban fracking.

"That is something that was made clear in our campaign and it is something that we are going to deliver to voters," she said.  

According to official figures, Colombia could face a natural gas shortage before 2030 unless new supply sources are secured. 

Venezuela has the world's eighth largest accumulation of proven gas reserves with 197Tf3 (trillion cubic feet). According to Ortega, GEB – which is two-thirds owned by the city of Bogotá – could help restore the existing pipeline and connect it with the company's own gas transport infrastructure. 

Ecopetrol recently began importing small-scale liquefied natural gas shipments at the Pacific port of Buenaventura to help meet rising demand for the fuel in Colombia's southwest.