Cartagena FSRU (Colombia)

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Cartagena FSRU, also known as the SPEC FSRU, is a floating LNG import terminal in Bolivar, Colombia.

Location

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Project Details

• Operator: Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao S.A. E.S.P. (SPEC)
• Owner: Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao S.A. E.S.P. (SPEC)
• Parent: Promigas (51%), Royal Vopak (49%)
• Vessel Name: Höegh Grace
• Vessel Operator: Höegh LNG
• Vessel Owner: Höegh LNG
• Vessel Parent Company: Höegh LNG
• Location: Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia
• Coordinates: 10.272155, -75.552196 (exact)
• Capacity: 3 mtpa (400 million cubic feet per day)
• Status: Operating
• Type: Import
• Start Year: 2016
• Associated infrastructure: Termobarranquilla (TEBSA), Termocandelaria, Termo Flores power plants

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Expansion projects

Phase 1 expansion project

• Operator: Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao S.A. E.S.P. (SPEC)
• Owner: Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao S.A. E.S.P. (SPEC)
• Parent company: Promigas (51%), Royal Vopak (49%)
• Location: Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia
• Coordinates: 10.272155, -75.552196 (exact)
• Capacity: 0.52 bcm/y (50 million cubic feet per day)
• Status: Proposed
• Type: Import
• Start year:
• Cost:
• Financing:
• FID status: Pre-FID

Phase 2 expansion project

• Operator: Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao S.A. E.S.P. (SPEC)
• Owner: Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao S.A. E.S.P. (SPEC)
• Parent company: Promigas (51%), Royal Vopak (49%)
• Location: Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia
• Coordinates: 10.272155, -75.552196 (exact)
• Capacity: 0.83 bcm/y (80 to 83 million cubic feet per day)
• Status: Proposed
• Type: Import
• Start year: 2026
• Cost:
• Financing:
• FID status: Pre-FID

Background

Cartagena LNG Terminal is an LNG import terminal in Bolivar, Colombia, with a regasification capacity of 400 million cubic feet per day (roughly 3 mtpa). It began operating in 2016, and fuels 60% of Colombia's gas-fired power generation, supplying fossil gas to the Termobarranquilla (TEBSA), Termocandelaria, and Termo Flores power stations.

In 2014, Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao S.A. ESP (SPEC) was contracted for the development and construction of the import regasification terminal on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. SPEC's shareholders were Colombian Energy company Promigas (50%), Americas Energy Fund II (25%), a private equity fund managed by Chile's SCL Energia Activa, and TAM LNG (25%), a Colombian equity fund. The two-phase project was estimated to require around $500 million of investment.

By 2015, Promigas owned 51% and a private equity firm Barú Investments owned 49% in the SPEC LNG terminal project. TAM LNG had dropped out of the project.

In 2019, the Dutch tank storage company Royal Vopak acquired Barú Investments' 49% stake in the Cartagena terminal.

The first phase of the project, which was offshore, included the construction of a pier, port, connecting pipelines, an FSRU with a capacity of 170,000 cubic meters, and a regasification capacity of 400 million cubic feet per day. The second phase was an onshore project which consisted of regasification, storage, and liquefaction facilities.

The project was the first LNG terminal to operate in Colombia and was built to supply the three major power plants in Northern Colombia. The project was inaugurated by Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos in 2016 and commenced operations that same year. According to SPEC's General Manager, Jose Luis Montes, the LNG terminal is crucial to preventing drought-related blackouts by providing natural gas to the Termobarranquilla (TEBSA), Termocandelaria and Termo Flores (Zona Franca Celsia) power plants. In addition, the terminal helps address concerns about dwindling gas production in Colombia.

Proposed expansions

Since 2022, terminal operator SPEC (Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao) has been studying possible capacity expansions at the Cartagena LNG terminal to help compensate for an anticipated shortfall in domestic fossil gas production beginning in 2027 or 2028. In January 2023, terminal owners Promigas and Vopak announced that they were soliciting expressions of interest to expand the terminal's regasification capacity in two stages. A preliminary stage, to be completed as early as December 2023, would increase capacity by 50 mcfd (million cubic feet per day), while a proposed second expansion would add another 80 mcfd of regasification capacity by the second half of 2026.

In its year-end report for 2023, Promigas reported that the terminal was still operating at its original capacity of 400 Mcf/d. However, in January 2024, Promigas and Höegh LNG confirmed that the Hoegh Grace's charter and FSRU services contract had been extended for 5 years (through 2031), and that Promigas would be able to make use of the Höegh Grace's full 533 Mcf/d capacity, implying a total eventual expansion of 133 Mcf/d. It was not immediately clear what the revised timeline for the expansion would be.

In November 2024, several online news outlets published articles outlining a more detailed timeline for the expansion of the terminal’s capacity. According to the online sources, SPEC’s capacity is expected to increase from a current 450 Mcf/d to 533 Mcf/d in two phases, occurring between August 2025 and August 2027. The first phase will add 25 Mcf/d, followed by a second phase that will increase capacity by the remaining 58 Mcf/d. The complete expansion will require an investment of USD$80 million.

Legal disputes over land ownership in Isla Barú

The Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao (SPEC), operator of the Cartagena LNG terminal, is involved in an ongoing legal dispute over land ownership in Isla Barú, where it operates. In 2024, a local lawyer publicly announced that a court ordered the restitution of the land to the local indigenous community, citing alleged irregularities in the property sale. The accusations have led to protests and blockades, raising concerns about potential disruptions to Colombia’s gas supply. The company maintains it holds valid property titles and disputes the restitution order, claiming procedural irregularities in the case.