2024-09-23 18:37:25
The Attorney General’s Office has called on the Ministries of Environment, Mines and other responsible entities to urgently coordinate efforts to overcome the shortage of natural gas in the country.
This took place after Ecopetrol announced the temporary suspension of gas supplies to 13 transport companies. Attorney General Margarita Cabello Blanco reiterated the warnings she has been making in different spaces, such as the Naturgas Congress on April 12, and the energy forum of the Association of Generating Companies, Andeg, on August 18, regarding the deficit.
“The importance of natural gas and hydrocarbons in an economy that must grow and provide energy guarantees to the population and industry cannot be ignored, which is why it is necessary to prioritize gas exploration and exploitation projects to increase proven reserves while a controlled transition to clean energy is carried out,” he said.
The call also responds to the disconnection that the Entity evidenced between the Ministries of Mines and Environment, which has generated delays in the exploration of the Komodo-1 project, which Ecopetrol is carrying out, and which impacts the exploration goal of another 40 new gas wells in 2024.
The official said that the country does not have sufficient transmission networks or connections to quickly switch to completely clean energy and that gas is needed and if the situation continues like this, it will have to be imported at a high price despite having the means to extract it in the country at a lower cost.
And according to a report from the Colombian Mercantile Exchange, production potential will fall by 7.3 percent by 2024; by 2025, by 11.6 percent; and by 2026, by 9.3 percent (19.8 percent between 2024 and 2026).