Page 4 - LatAmOil Week 42 2021

COMMENTARY Y
LatAmOil COMMENTAR LatAmOil

(Image: Gov.Co)
Meeting the need for gas

Colombia may be hard-pressed to focus on blue hydrogen projects, given

that domestic gas demand is rising while production trends downward

COLOMBIA’S plans for using natural gas and levels did rise to some extent in 2019-2020, but
coal to produce blue hydrogen within the frame- not enough to make up for their drop of more
WHAT: work of the government’s long-term Hydrogen than 25% in the 2013-2018 period.
Colombia’s energy sector Roadmap may run into difficulties as a result of
will have to work around a decline in the country’s domestic production Supply and demand pressure
rising gas consumption levels. In the meantime, Colombia’s proven gas reserves
levels and constraints on According to the roadmap, which Colom- are shrinking. Government data show that the
domestic gas production. bian officials unveiled late last month, the South American state had about 83.5bn cubic
country’s initial efforts to establish a hydrogen metres of gas as of the end of 2020, equivalent
WHY: economy will focus on the use of fossil fuels in to 7.7 years of consumption at contemporary
The government wants combination with carbon capture and storage rates. This was down from the end-2019 figure
to use domestic gas and
coal supplies to support (CCS) solutions. This will put blue hydrogen at of 89.6 bcm, equivalent to around eight years
blue hydrogen projects in the centre of the first phase of the programme, of consumption, as well as the end-2018 figure
the 2021-2030 period. which will be carried out during the 2021-2030 of 107.6 bcm, equivalent to nearly 10 years of
period. consumption.
WHAT NEXT: However, Colombia has only limited The gas sector is also under pressure from the
Bogota should con- amounts of gas available for the production of demand side. The latest edition of BP’s Statistical
sider its options for blue hydrogen using steam methane reforming. Review of World Energy reports that Colombia
importing gas to cover Domestic gas yields appear to be in a long-term produced 38.06mn cubic metres per day of gas
consumption. decline, not least because the country’s main on average in 2020, up from 36.84 mcm per day
fields in the Guajira basin are maturing. Output in 2019 and 36.19 mcm per day in 2018.

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