Ecopetrol said in a statement that its pipeline unit Cenit received approval from the national environmental licensing authority to adapt existing offshore crude infrastructure for LNG use at the Covenas maritime terminal in Sucre department.
In addition, Ecopetrol said that technical studies conducted by international experts for the company in 2025 showed Covenas was the fastest and most viable option compared to other LNG import alternatives.
According to Ecopetrol, the project will provide a strategic natural gas hub on the north coast, which aims to offer an adequate balance between energy supply and demand at the national level.
Ecopetrol plans to launch a binding process to contract regasification services in the coming days.
The company expects that the commercialization of natural gas to meet domestic demand will begin before the end of 2025.
Ecopetrol did not provide the capacity or the pricing details of the project.
Last month, the company said that its regasification plans also include floating storage and regasification units.
In the first half of 2025, Ecopetrol launched a non-binding request for information process with the aim of receiving proposals for new regasification units and evaluating their possible location, mainly in areas such as Ballena (La Guajira) and Covenas.
In the market survey, 42 mainly international companies expressed interest, and 20 companies responded to the questionnaire and submitted their proposals, according to Ecopetrol.
PIO SAS
In March this year, Ecopetrol signed a deal with compatriot PIO SAS for regasification infrastructure on the Colombian Pacific coast.
Ecopeetrol said at the time that this new regasification alternative on the Colombian Pacific coast will provide new sources of supply to meet the demand for gas in Colombia, prior to the launch of offshore projects.
The infrastructure will have a regasification capacity of 60 million cubic feet per day.
Ecopetrol expects the infrastructure to start operations in August of 2026, offering receipt and storage services in Buenaventura and regasification in Buga, Valle del Cauca.
Belgian shipowner Exmar recently secured a contract from Regasificadora Del Pacífico (RDP) to deploy a floating storage unit on the west coast of Colombia.
Exmar said that RDP, part of the Puerto Inversiones y Obras, is developing a fast-track LNG import solution in the inner bay of Buenaventura, under a term contract signed with Ecopetrol in February 2025 to provide regasification and logistics services for a volume of 60 million cubic feet per day of gas.
