Page 9 - LatAmOil Week 21 2021

LatAmOil PUERTO RICO LatAmOil

New Fortress seeks court review

of FERC’s Puerto Rico LNG decision

PROJECTS & NEW Fortress Energy has asked a federal appeals that the LNG plant is already in operation and
COMPANIES court to review a US Federal Energy Regulatory that the federal permitting process would require
Commission (FERC) decision asserting jurisdic- a lengthy federal review. The company requested
tion over the San Juan LNG terminal in Puerto a rehearing from the FERC, but this was effec-
Rico and requiring the company to apply for a tively denied recently when the regulator did not
permit for the facility. act on the request within the required timeframe,
The import terminal was commissioned in leading to New Fortress lodging a petition for
April 2020 and supplies LNG to industrial users review to the US Court of Appeals for the DC
and microgrids in Puerto Rico via trucks, as well Circuit on May 24.
as providing gas to two units of the adjacent San New Fortress and its main customer, the
Juan combined cycle power plant. Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA),
Two months after the LNG facility was have argued that disrupting operations at the
brought online, the FERC issued an order for LNG terminal would severely affect efforts
New Fortress to show why the facility was not to meet the island’s energy needs. The case is
subject to the regulator’s jurisdiction under Sec- also set to test the limits of the US regulator’s
tion 3 of the Natural Gas Act. The FERC subse- jurisdiction.
quently asserted its jurisdiction over the facility The FERC has not asked New Fortress to shut
in March 2021, ordering New Fortress to apply down the LNG plant while this issue is being
for a federal permit within six months. resolved, but there is uncertainty over what will
New Fortress is contesting this decision, given happen to the facility.™

COLOMBIA

Ecopetrol reports impact

of protests on operations

PERFORMANCE COLOMBIA’S Ecopetrol said this week that 207,000 barrels per day over the month, up to
its operations had been disrupted as a result of May 26, compared with average throughput of
the protests taking place across the country for 225,000 bpd.
almost a month. It is the latest among a number The Cartagena refinery has been unaffected,
of Colombian companies to report an impact Ecopetrol said, but noted that the protests were
from the protests. also leading to low withdrawals of fuel, petro-
Ecopetrol said its total production had chemical and industrial products. Indeed, the
dropped to 651,000 barrels of oil equivalent company reported that compared with antici-
per day (boepd), compared with an average of pated demand levels for May, national demand
675,000 boepd in the first quarter of 2021. The for diesel was down 33%, gasoline was down
company said the worst-hit segment was its nat- 15% and jet fuel was down 1%.
ural gas business, including natural gas liquids Ecopetrol said that as of May 26, it did
(NGLs) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), not expect the disruptions to have a material
primarily in the Cuisana and Floreña fields. Oil impact on its plans and targets for the whole
production has been affected by the protests in of 2021. Nonetheless, the company said it was
the Putumayo, Meta, Arauca and Boyacá depart- implementing adjustments to its operations
ments, but to a lesser extent than Ecopetrol’s gas and logistics in order to mitigate the negative
operations. impact on fuel supply to different regions of
Nonetheless, the reduced availability of Colombia. It added that it could not predict
domestic crude has, in turn, affected refinery how long the unrest will last or how much
throughput at Ecopetrol’s Barrancabermeja more of an impact it could have on the compa-
refinery. The facility has had throughput of ny’s operations.™

Week 21 27•May•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9