Colombia’s Ecopetrol seeks LNG supplies for Puerto Bahia terminal
Ecopetrol launched its public and competitive tender for the supply of LNG on a delivered ex-ship (DES) basis on July 9.
The submission deadline for the first phase of the expression of interest is July 17.
Ecopetrol expects to receive binding offers by August 24 and to communicate the award decision on September 8.
Volumes
According to the document, the procurement process includes firm contract quantities, potential quantities, specific-term Quantities, and incremental quantities, expressed as average daily quantities of natural gas (MMBtu/day).
The firm contract quantities are supported by executed downstream natural gas sales agreements.
Ecopetrol noted that the corresponding downstream demand is obligated to take, or pay for, not less than 95 percent and up to 100 percent of the contracted quantities.
The firm contacts range from 86,835 MMBtu/day during December 1-31, 2026, 86,835 MMBtu/day in 2027, 102,659 MMBtu/day in 2028, 173,649 MMBtu/day in 2029, 153,530 MMBtu/day in 2030, 97,347 MMBtu/day in 2031, 95,976 MMBtu/day in 2032 and 2033.
FSRU
Ecopetrol said that the FSRU has an LNG storage capacity of approximately 148,849 cbm.
The firm did not provide further details regarding the FSRU and the terminal, saying that additional technical information “will be provided as
part of the technical information package.”
Sociedad Portuaria Puerto Bahia, a unit of Canadian firm Frontera Energy, recently entered into a take-or-pay agreement with Ecopetrol to provide integrated logistics and LNG regasification services at an FSRU-based facility in Caratgena.
Frontera owns a 99.97 percent equity interest in Puerto Bahia, a multi-purpose maritime and logistics terminal in Cartagena, adjacent to the Bocachica access channel in Cartagena Bay.
According to Frontera, the agreement with Ecopetrol is to be developed in two phases, with initial regasification of 126 MMcfd starting in 2027, increasing to 300 MMcfd after the first two years.
In order to fulfill the contract and satisfy additional demand needs, Puerto Bahia entered into a contract with a US-based company, which is “one of the world’s largest FSRU providers and operators, for the lease of a FSRU and the provision of related operations and maintenance (O&M) services, it said.
Frontera did not reveal the name of the US-based company.
Based on the description, US FSRU player Excelerate Energy, which has 12 FSRUs in its fleet, could be the FSRU owner.
In addition, Norway-based ECOnnect will deliver its jettyless LNG transfer system for Puerto Bahia’s fast-tracked import terminal in Cartagena Bay.