Luz Stella Murgas, president of Colombia’s Natural Gas Association (Naturgas), stated the infrastructure is not in optimal condition and emphasized urgent repairs are essential to help Colombia reduce a natural gas deficit threatening multiple industrial sectors. The Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA originally invested $230 million to construct the line in 2007 with a design capacity of 500 million cubic feet per day. Murgas disclosed Colombia submitted an OFAC license application approximately one year ago, though no approval timeline has been established.
Luis Alberto Terrero, president of the Venezuelan Association of Gas Processors, projected that new gas volumes will not be incorporated in Venezuela before the end of 2026, with domestic projects expected to start in late first-half 2027. The delayed timeline compounds Colombia’s supply challenges, where only 33 active gas wells operated in 2025 compared to 130 in 2012, according to Murgas. Colombia currently imports liquefied natural gas at $12 to $13 per million British thermal units, while industry estimates suggest Venezuelan pipeline gas could cost approximately $6, representing potential savings near 50 percent against seaborne cargoes.
Francisco Martínez, coordinator manager of the Repsol-operated Cardón IV project, noted his facility generates 580 million cubic feet daily, representing one-third of Venezuela’s total gas production, but stressed that inadequate transport infrastructure to processing plants limits optimization potential. The political alignment between Caracas and Bogotá, which restored bilateral energy cooperation in March 2026 with Colombia’s environmental ministry reinstating a suspended permit for pipeline segment replacement, provides regulatory groundwork though the OFAC licensing requirement remains the critical path obstacle.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
