Claudia Lopez responds to Benedetti about the possibility of buying gas from Venezuela

In recent days, Colombians have heard several statements about the idea of ​​buying gas from the neighboring country, which aroused all kinds of comments in the political and social sectors.

In search of restoring relations with Venezuela for this and other objective, there is Ambassador Armando Benedetti, who today gave some clarifications, among them: “Judicial cooperation between Venezuela and Colombia has already been activated”, before the assistance requested by the mayor. Claudia Lopez to fight organized crime in the capital and prosecute members of criminal structures.

Similarly, Benedetti, via his official Twitter account, clarified the issue of the possible purchase of gas from Venezuela, and identified some companies that could be part of the agreement, stressing that they would be “public, not private” companies.

to suspects, I want to tell you that the gas issue will be dealt with by public companies and not by private ones. Only two can: Ecopetrol and TGI (in which Bogotá has the majority), and more than buying, the goal is to repair the infrastructure and get the fields operational.”

Given this hypothesis, Lopez did not hesitate to assure the ambassador which organizations in the capital could cooperate and how they would participate in supposed negotiations with Venezuela.

The mayor specified, “I always count on Bogota and its public business group, GrupoEnergiaBogTGISAESP, to contribute to whatever governments see fit and proper for binationals.”

He did not hesitate to point out that more than a million Colombians do not have access to gas for cooking and must cook with wood.

“One fact: one million six hundred thousand Colombians are still wood-cooking! Together we can get through this!”

Looking at the above statement, Monica Contreras, President of International Gas Carrier (TGI) –Bogota Energy Group– He said today in the framework of the Andesco conference held in the city of Cartagena:

Today, 36 million Colombians benefit from natural gas. He pointed out that 30% of the demand for it in the country is concentrated in industries, and this sector has an important role.

“This is ridiculous”: the oil union responds to the proposal to buy and store gas from Venezuela

According to the ambassador, imports from Venezuela are necessary because “Colombia will run out of gas in the next seven years”. He considers that these purchases should start “now” because “you have to plan to save, seven years is nothing.”

In light of these statements, the President of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), Francisco Jose Lloreda, confirmed that this proposal by Ambassador Benedetti to import gas now from Venezuela for storage. “This is ridiculous and goes against the national interest.”.

The guild leader argued that Natural gas is very expensive to store in its gaseous state. For this reason, hydrocarbons are used on the spot, burned in the processes of the same companies in the sector or liquefied (reducing their temperature to -260 ° C) to be exported in special containers.

In addition, he noted that the production of natural gas in Colombia generates jobs, revenues, income from taxes and the purchase of goods and services in the country, which contributes to the dynamism of regional economies. “Therefore, with the development of natural gas, it does not make sense to rely on imported gas,” said Francisco Jose Loreda.

According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Between January 2021 and July 2022, $16.8 billion in royalties were collectedwhich is the money that companies pay for the production of hydrocarbons and minerals (such as coal and gold) in Colombia and is delivered to municipalities and departments.