In recent days, Colombians have heard several statements regarding the idea of buying gas from the neighboring country that has generated all kinds of comments in the political and social sectors.
And in search of reestablishing relations with Venezuela for this and other objectives, there is Ambassador Armando Benedetti, who today made some clarifications, among them: “Judicial cooperation between Venezuela and Colombia is already activated”, before the help requested by the mayor Claudia López to combat organized crime in the capital and prosecute members of criminal structures.
Likewise, Benedetti, through his official Twitter account, clarified the issue of the possible purchase of gas from Venezuela and named some of the companies that might be part of the agreement, assuring that they would be “public and not private” companies.
“For the suspicious, I want to inform you that the gas issue would be dealt with by public and not private companies. Only two might: Ecopetrol and TGI (in which Bogotá has the majority), and more than the purchase, it is to fix the infrastructure and the operation of fields”, he pointed out.
Given this premise, López did not hesitate to confirm to the ambassador which organizations in the capital might collaborate and how they would participate in a presumed negotiation with Venezuela.
“Always count on @Bogota and its public business conglomerate @GrupoEnergiaBog @TGISAESP to contribute whatever the governments consider pertinent and binationally convenient,” the mayor specified.
He did not hesitate to point out that more than a million Colombians do not have access to gas to cook and must cook with firewood.
“One fact: 1 million six hundred thousand Colombians still cook with firewood! Together we can get through that!” she argued.
Given the above statement, Mónica Contreras, president of International Gas Carrier (TGI) –the Bogota Energy Group– Today, in the framework of the Andesco congress that is being held in the city of Cartagena, he said that:
“Today 36 million Colombians benefit from natural gas. 30% of the demand for this in the country is concentrated in the industries, this sector has an important role”, he pointed out.
“It’s absurd”: oil union reacts to proposal to buy gas from Venezuela and store it
According to the ambassador, imports from Venezuela are necessary because “Colombia will run out of gas in the next seven years”. He considers that these purchases should start “now” because “you have to plan to save, seven years is nothing”.
Given these statements, the president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), Francisco José Lloreda, spoke out and assured that this proposal by Ambassador Benedetti to now import gas from Venezuela to store it “it is absurd and goes once morest the national interest”.
The union leader argued that natural gas is very expensive to store in its gaseous state. For this reason, the hydrocarbon is used immediately, burned in the operations of the same companies in the sector or liquefied (lowering its temperature to -260 °C) to be exported in special containers.
In addition, he pointed out that the production of natural gas in Colombia generates jobs, royalties, income from taxes and the purchase of goods and services in the country, which contributes to the dynamism of regional economies. “Therefore, with natural gas to be developed, it makes no sense to depend on imported gas,” said Francisco José Lloreda.
According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Between January 2021 and July 2022, $16.8 billion in royalties were collectedwhich is the money that companies pay for the production of hydrocarbons and minerals (such as coal and gold) in Colombia and that is delivered to the municipalities and departments.