Costa Norte LNG Terminal

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Costa Norte LNG Terminal, also known as the AES Colón LNG Terminal, is an operating LNG terminal in Colón, Panama.

Location

The satellite photo below shows the location of the terminal in Colón, Panama.

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Project Details

• Parent: AES Corporation (100%)
• Location: Colón, Panama
• Coordinates: 9.339968, -79.907761 (exact)
• Capacity: 1.5 mtpa
• Status: Operating
• Type: Import
• Start Year: 2018

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

Background

The Costa Norte LNG terminal is an operating LNG import terminal in Colón, Panama. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the terminal took place in May 2016. It was brought online in 2018 as Panama's first LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal, and Central America first regasification and storage facility. The terminal was developed in conjunction with the adjacent AES Colón power station, a 381 MW combined cycle power plant.

In 2012, Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli signed a law that would increase the role of natural gas in Panama's economy. The law provided incentives for the promotion of natural gas projects that supply local power plants for energy generation, increasing the likelihood of new natural gas project proposals in the future.

In May 2017, French energy company Engie and U.S.-based AES agreed to enter into a joint venture to market and sell the gas imported to the Costa Norte LNG terminal. The terminal was designed to have a capacity of 1.5 mtpa, of which almost half was to be used by AES's power plant under construction on the same site, with the rest of the gas to be sold on the open market.

South Korean firm POSCO was awarded the contract to build both the power plant and LNG terminal. Beyond the terminal's primary purpose of providing gas to the on-site power plant, it was designed to be able to power 15 million households and some industry near the Panama Canal and Colón.

In August of 2018, AES inaugurated the terminal along with the adjacent AES Colón power station. The plant and regasification terminal were expected to begin commercial operations on September 1, 2018, and the LNG tank, the largest in the Caribbean, was expected to begin operations on schedule in the second half of 2019.

In October 2019, the terminal started full operations with the inauguration of its storage terminal.

As of September 2021, AES was reportedly considering an expansion of the terminal's regasification and distribution capacities. Plans call for the Costa Norte terminal to begin supplying gas to the nearby Gatún power station upon its completion in 2024.

Ownership

The terminal was originally co-owned by AES Corporation (50.1%) and the Panamanian company Inversiones Bahía, Ltd (49.9%). In September 2021 AES announced that it had acquired Inversiones Bahía's stake and assumed 100% ownership of the project.