Colombia’s Gas Industry Warns Backup Is Thin After Terminal Fault
Key Facts
Colombia once covered its gas needs from its own fields, and now imports close to a third. A single fault at the Cartagena import terminal has shown how little slack that leaves.
Naturgas, the association of Colombia’s natural gas companies, warned on 26 September that the system lacks backup. The warning followed a fault at the SPEC LNG terminal in Cartagena that forced the government to ration supply.
Why This Matters
Natural gas cooks meals in millions of Colombian homes and fuels much of the country’s industry. It also backs up the power grid when rivers run low and hydro output falls.
Colombia’s own fields have been declining, so imported liquefied gas fills part of the gap. About 30 percent of the gas consumed is imported, and almost all of it lands at one terminal.
For foreign readers, this is a supply story with political weight in a country that changed government in August. President Abelardo de la Espriella, a conservative lawyer, took office on 7 August 2026.
What Happened at the Terminal
SPEC LNG runs a floating storage and regasification unit, a moored vessel that turns liquefied gas back into gas. One of its four processing trains developed an unforeseen operating condition and needed corrective work.
Capacity fell from 475 million cubic feet a day to 400 million, about 15.7 percent, El Universal reported. The company expects to restore full capacity within seven days, La República reported.
The mines ministry framed the measure as scheduled rationing and says household gas is not being cut. The Rio Times reported the rationing order when it was issued.
How the Rationing Works
Resolution 40524, signed by mines and energy minister María Nohemí Arboleda Arango, sets the order of priority. Essential demand comes first, covering homes, hospitals, schools, mass transit and similar users.
Thermal power plants and the industries that keep refineries running come next, then other contracted users. The resolution restricts 15 gigaBTU a day of contracted essential demand served with imported gas.
El Universal reported the restriction was set to run for up to seven days. El Heraldo put the declared rationing window at eight days.
What the Industry Says
Luz Stella Murgas, who heads Naturgas, said the episode leaves a clear signal for Colombia. “Our gas system needs more backup,” she said, in remarks reported by El Colombiano.
“We are operating like a car without a spare tyre,” she added. Murgas argued that energy security is built before the emergency arrives, not during it.
Alejandro Castañeda of Andeg, the thermal generators’ association, put the stakes more bluntly. “The plants need those 400 million cubic feet to generate power and avoid a blackout,” he said.
Castañeda said thermal plants are already drawing the full volume available. Camilo Sánchez of Andesco, the utilities association, called SPEC key to Colombian supply, El Heraldo reported.
Where Ecopetrol Fits
Ecopetrol, the state-controlled oil company, is the main domestic producer of natural gas. It said in December 2025 that it would raise supply for essential demand by 14 percent in 2026.
That meant moving from an average of 184 gigaBTU a day to about 210. It said it would supply more than 150 gigaBTU a day, about 15 percent of national demand.
Those volumes are domestic, and they do not replace what the Cartagena terminal imports. The company has not issued a public statement on the current outage.
Its new president, Joaquín Gutiérrez, elected on 24 September, is a close ally of De la Espriella. Any shift towards more exploration would therefore run through decisions taken at Ecopetrol.
The Political Argument
The supply squeeze has become an argument about who let it happen. Former president Gustavo Petro, a leftist who left office in August, blames the gas industry itself.
On 17 September he said any blackout would be down to a greedy addiction to gas. He pointed instead to solar spending left in the budget, Publimetro reported.
Natalia Gutiérrez, president of the generators’ association Acolgen, answered the same day. “If we were to have a blackout, it would be Petro’s blackout,” she told Publimetro.
She said the sector faces a negative margin between supply and demand for this El Niño. The government’s own resolution is technical in tone and assigns no blame.
The Numbers Behind the Warning
Colombia imports roughly 30 percent of its gas today, El Heraldo reported. Without new domestic production, that share would reach 65 percent by 2035.
By 2045 it would be 98 percent, according to figures cited by El Colombiano. Naturgas wants faster permits for import and transport infrastructure, and a restart of exploration.
The Niño 3.4 index reached plus three degrees in mid-September, IRI Columbia reported. That matters because dry weather cuts hydropower and pushes the grid towards gas.
Thermal plants therefore compete with industry for the same reduced volume. Nothing in the current numbers points to households losing supply, which sits first in the priority list.
What It Means If You Live or Invest in Colombia
If you live in Colombia, household gas is protected first under the resolution. Cooking and hot water should continue while the restriction is in force.
If you run a factory, gas contracts may be curtailed for the duration of the works. Plants that can switch to diesel or bottled gas will pay more for the week.
If you invest in utilities, watch spot power prices and thermal dispatch during the outage. Any extension of the works beyond a week would change that picture.
If you follow policy, the next fight is over exploration permits and new import capacity. Both are decisions for the government elected in June, not for the association warning about them.
What Is Not Yet Known
The cause of the fault in the processing train has not been explained in detail. Whether repairs finish within seven days is not yet confirmed.
The cost of the curtailment to industrial users has not been quantified publicly. No figure has been published for the effect on wholesale power prices.
It is unclear whether the 15 gigaBTU restriction will be adjusted during the week. No public comment from Ecopetrol on the outage has been reported.
Whether the government will expand import capacity, and how fast, remains open. The effect of this El Niño on reservoir levels is still a forecast, not a measurement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a regasification terminal?
It turns liquefied natural gas, chilled for shipping, back into gas for pipelines. The Cartagena plant does this aboard a moored vessel rather than on land.
Will households lose gas?
The government’s priority list puts homes, hospitals and schools first. Industrial users absorb the reduction while the repair work continues.
How long will the rationing last?
The operator expects to restore full capacity within seven days. El Heraldo reported the declared rationing window at eight days.
Why does El Niño matter here?
Dry weather lowers reservoir levels and cuts hydroelectric output. Thermal plants then burn more gas, leaving less for industry.
Sources: Infobae, Naturgas alert on low system backup, El Colombiano, associations warn on system backup, El Heraldo, risks flagged after the SPEC fault, El Universal, Resolution 40524 and the priority order, La República, ministry announces the rationing, Ecopetrol, supply for essential demand in 2026, Publimetro, the former president on gas and blackouts, IRI Columbia, El Niño forecast for 2026 and 2027
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