An integral component of Colombia’s energy security

February 25, 2025

José Castro, managing director of SPEC LNG, talks to The Energy Year about the company’s role in guaranteeing Colombia’s energy security, how it connects the country to international markets and its ability to adapt to market demands. SPEC LNG is an LNG import and regasification terminal that supports thermal generation.

How critical is SPEC LNG in guaranteeing Colombia’s energy security?
SPEC LNG was built primarily to cover the needs of the electricity sector, specifically to provide LNG to important power plants in Colombia to ensure reliable electricity whenever required.
In certain periods of the year, such as when El Niño hits, dams are low and hydroelectric power plants cannot meet all the electricity demand of the country. Thermal plants fed by natural gas become a reliable energy solution during these power shortages.
For example, during the pandemic, we experienced a relatively dry season with reservoirs at 30% of their capacity. This situation allowed us to operate continuously in support of Colombia’s gas-fired thermal power plants.
As of October 31, 2024, we have received 44 cargo ships of LNG, achieving record operational figures, supplying approximately 21% of the country’s electricity generation and meeting more than 30% of the national natural-gas demand, particularly during El Niño.

How is SPEC LNG the link connecting Colombia to international markets, and how flexible is it in adapting to market demands?
SPEC LNG is Colombia’s only regasification terminal, stores the receiving LNG, regasifies it and delivers it. We provide these services to three critical power plants in the country (TEBSA, TermoCandelaria and Prime Energía). The users are responsible for buying their LNG on international markets, while we exclusively operate the terminal.
Additionally, we are strategically located in the Caribbean region. We are less than four days by ship from the US, which is the largest exporter of LNG in the world, and less than two days away from Trinidad and Tobago, another LNG export hub in the region. Nationally, we are connected to the national gas pipeline system.
When electricity contingencies strike, our facility can go from utilisation rates of 5% to 100%. For example, during El Niño we managed to hit utilisation rates of 100%. In these times, we delivered up to 35-40% of Colombia’s electricity demand.

What expansion plans are you preparing for future electricity and gas needs?
We have been working on the expansion of our infrastructure since 2021, and we foresaw a possible gas deficit starting by 2025-2026. That is why we are evaluating increasing our regasification capacity to 533 mcf [15 mcm] by 2027, with an early increase of 475 mcf [13.44 mcm] in 2025. With the expansion of our facility, we will continue to serve Colombia’s electricity market by helping meet the national natural gas demand.

 

What are SPEC LNG’s key competitive advantages?
I would highlight our location, flexibility, infrastructure and experience from our shareholders as SPEC’s main competitive advantages.
In terms of location, we are strategically located to connect to international LNG markets since we are near the United States and Trinidad and Tobago, and also domestically since we are connected by a 9-kilometre pipeline to the national grid. Moreover, Cartagena Bay is ideal for LNG ship-to-ship operations.
Our infrastructure also enables us to align to variations in the electricity market in Colombia and permits us to increase our regasification capacity and serve other markets.
With the experience of SPEC’s shareholders, Promigas and Royal Vopak, we are positioned as a key asset for delivering on Colombia’s energy needs.

How much of a priority are the areas of sustainability, communities and safety?
We have ambitious decarbonisation targets to reduce emissions by 50% by 2028. Our sustainability axes are key parts of the way we operate. We believe that natural gas is the energy that will enable the energy transition, as it is more sustainable and cleaner. We also have all the required environmental certifications.
In terms of relationships with the communities, we have six different Afro-descendant communities in our area of influence. We support them with fishing, cultural, educational, sports and tourism projects. These initiatives enhance the livelihood of these communities. One of our priorities is to have a good relationship with the communities that live in the area we operate.
Likewise, the safety of our workers is one of our key priorities.

How open is SPEC LNG to new trends shaping the energy arena?
SPEC LNG focuses on LNG storage and regasification, but we are open to adapting to international market demands and the energy transition. There are certain areas that are interesting for us, such as ammonia handling and new technologies for storage, which could be interesting areas in the future.
Gas will be our major focus in Colombia given the nature of the market and future trends, but we are always looking to anticipate the needs of the market.

What trends do you see in mini-LNG compared to large-scale LNG in Colombia?
LNG will play a much more prominent role in the Colombian energy matrix, through either being regasified and pumped into the system or the development of alternative LNG markets, such as the transportation market.
UPME’s [Mining and Energy Planning Unit] energy plans for the year 2050 foresee that mini-LNG could be used in the transport sector. We definitely see that happening. Once LNG can meet stable demand, users will be able to commit to buying LNG on a longer term, which means that other LNG-related markets will develop, such as in transport or industry.
When it comes to large-scale LNG, there is a great market. This is because there are 2 GW of thermal generation that are being backed by LNG. The demand is such in Colombia that they are even talking about starting another regasification terminal.
Globally we see that LNG is dominating the energy transition, and in Colombia it will be much more prominent in coming years.

Read our latest insights on:

• Colombia
• Trinidad and Tobago