Colombia’s Ecopetrol to import Venezuelan gas from 2025

Ecopetrol CEO Ricardo Roa (second from the right) at the Andesco 2024 conference.

Speaking at the Andesco business association conference, Ecopetrol CEO Ricardo Roa presented a 10-year plan to ensure a stable natural gas supply for Colombia, which includes imports from Venezuela from 2025.

Colombia’s state-owned company projects a deficit of 83 Gbtud (Giga British thermal units) for next year, of which it is expected that only 61 Gbtud could be covered by new domestic projects.

The Antonio Ricuarte gas pipeline could be used to start importing 30 to 50 Gbtud from Venezuela, and this figure could eventually reach 100 Gbtud, according to Roa.

The pipeline connects Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo with Colombia’s Caribbean coast. It was initially devised for Colombian gas to flow towards Venezuela. The plan to reverse the pipeline had been stalled for years, and now it also needs additional repair work on both sides.

At the conference, Roa said that it will be necessary to obtain a license from OFAC, as well as to remove restrictions on transport infrastructure and accelerate permits.

Natural gas imports from Venezuela present a cheaper alternative to the US for the region’s developing economies. The South American country sits atop 77% of Latin America and the Caribbean’s gas reserves, which are mostly linked to oil deposits. 

Venezuela also has important offshore gas fields—not associated with oil production. To the West, the Perla field is operated by Eni and Repsol, and in the West there are three blocks shared with Trinidad and Tobago, where Shell and BP are developing new projects. 

Unlike oil, natural gas does not require state-owned PDVSA to have a stake, offering greater control to private firms in the sector.