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Colombia’s majority state-owned oil company Ecopetrol has secured all regulatory and environmental permits needed to begin construction of a liquefied natural gas import project on the Caribbean coast.
The project, a joint venture with Canada’s Frontera Energy, is expected to begin operations in December 2026, initially adding up to 300 million cubic feet a day.
“With the approval of these port and environmental procedures, which fully enable the infrastructure, we are starting the execution phase of a strategic project for the country,” Bayron Triana, Ecopetrol’s vice president of transition energies, said in a statement.
The National Infrastructure Agency approved a modification to Puerto Bahia’s port concession, allowing the terminal in Cartagena to receive and import liquefied natural gas using existing infrastructure.
Separately, Colombia’s environmental licensing authority approved changes required for the project’s development, Ecopetrol said.
Puerto Bahia will now move ahead with contracting logistics services, finalizing agreements for a floating storage and regasification unit, and integrating infrastructure for the terminal.
Ecopetrol said gas sales contracts tied to the project were signed on May 15 with distributors and traders.
Triana said the project would strengthen Colombia’s gas supply reliability, especially during El Nino weather conditions.
Ecopetrol, Puerto Bahia and Frontera Energy are developing the project as part of efforts to secure additional gas supply sources for domestic demand.
(The original version of this content was written in English)
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