The second call of the pacific regasification plant Complete four addenda to increase the time for the submission of proposals by companies that are interested in developing this project.
The most recent addendum was published on May 23 and delays the receipt of technical and economic proposals by almost a month.
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They are asking us to assume the risk in the construction stage
According to the document, now, The reception will take place on July 6.when in the third addendum it was scheduled for June 8.
This process, which was declared void in 2021, has already had a series of extensions to its dates. According to industry sources, this is because there is little interest from investors to develop the project.
Mónica Contreras, president of TGI, assured that will not participate in the call since the regasification company is not bankable. According to the directive, “the risk in the construction stage is being asked to be assumed by us” and for this reason we said that as it is structured, the proposal is not viable to carry it out.
El Callao Port Society
When consulting with other possible investors, they preferred not to refer to the subject, stating that they are under analysis to define their participation.
According to the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (Upme), the entity in charge of publishing the documents and selecting the investor, This infrastructure is required to ensure the reliability and energy sovereignty of the country.
In fact, the main reason for doing it in the Pacific and not in the Caribbean is that this area does not have direct gas supplyTherefore, any problem in the infrastructure can leave the southwestern part of the country without supply. However, by having a regasification plant in Buenaventura, in the event of a difficulty, gas can be incorporated into the network from the plant.
However, there are a number of disagreements in the sector on behalf of the extra costs that are associated with doing it in this region. For example, the construction of a gas pipeline that crosses conflictive areas is required, where prior consultations must be carried out, which could delay the construction of the project.
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This fossil fuel is characterized by being colorless, odorless and non-toxic.
In the socialization of the project, Upme said that there is an estimate of the impact of this work on natural gas rates for the areas of influence of the project. For example, in the southwest it would be 14.8 percent and for the area of Caldas, Quindío, and Risaralda, 8.2 percent.
Now, one of the central issues in the discussion about infrastructure is its high cost. According to some estimates this It could be between 700 and 800 million dollars; however, other estimates put the cost up to double, as shown in the graph.
That is why one of the central discussions is how the remuneration is going to be made, once the construction is finished. This is one of the responsibilities of the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (Creg)that the remuneration methodology must create as it is a reliability and energy security project.
That is why one of the most relevant definitions is who are the beneficiaries of the project, since with this it is established who should pay the cost of the work.
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In this regard, the entity explained that “the information on the identification of the addressable demand of the beneficiaries will be published by Upme through the website.”
According to investor documents, The work must be delivered 58 months after its estimate, that is, four years and 10 months. The objective is for the infrastructure to be ready to respond in a case of natural gas deficit, which is expected between 2026 and 2027.
However, with the first call deserted and the four addenda that the second process carries, the implementation of this project seems to be further and further away of the need for which it was initially called.
