Thursday, March 28, 2024

Logo Central America Link

Natural gas plants

Monday, November 3, 2014


There are new energy options for Central America, with the announcement last month that Pacific Rubiales will build Latin America’s first floating liquefied natural gas port in Northern Colombia.

The port will involve an LNG barge, connected to a pipeline from the La Creciente gas deposits.

The project expects to export 70 million cubic feet of gas per day as of 2015.

Central American countries could save money by using gas to produce energy.

Each country currently generates electricity from bunker and diesel fuel in several plants, which could be converted to natural gas.

Volatile prices have discouraged operators from converting to gas.

Increased supply, together with a convenient shipping location, will help stabilize the cost, which In many countries is as little as one-third that of fuel oil.

Gas also produces a third less carbon dioxide than conventional fuels.

In the region, only the Dominican Republic has a gas import facility and power plant, built ten years ago by United States-based AES.

Pacific Rubiales Energy is a Canadian petroleum and gas exploration company with extensive assets in Colombia, including the Rubiales oil field.

The company, which also has assets in Peru and Guatemala, is one of South America’s largest independent energy companies.

Pacific Rubiales trades on the Toronto and Bogota stock exchanges.

The gas export project will be developed in partnership with Belgium-based Exmar Shipmanagent.