Colombia's Regasificadora del Pacífico reports 90% progress and will begin operating in November 2026

The Regasificadora del Pacífico, one of Colombia's key energy infrastructure projects, has reached 90% completion and will begin operating in November 2026, according to the daily La República. Jesús Urías, the plant's general manager, said the LNG carrier Pargo Rojo is in the final stage of preparation in China to join the plant's operations.

For its part, the outlet Valora Analitik had previously reported that the project stood at 80% completion and estimated that its expansion phase would be ready in April 2027. This difference in timing reflects the accelerated pace of work in the plant's final phase. Urías told Valora Analitik that firm commercial contracts are already in place with companies of the stature of Ecopetrol and Alcanos, which ensures the commercial and operational viability of the infrastructure independently of state resources.

A regasification plant is an industrial facility that returns liquefied natural gas (cooled to extreme temperatures for sea transport) to its original gaseous state so it can be injected into the national pipeline network. Projects of this kind serve as a vital backstop for securing energy supply during droughts or periods of high demand, diversifying the country's energy mix and reducing dependence on a single source.

Alongside the progress of this privately contracted project, Colombia's energy sector faces serious fiscal difficulties on the state side. According to information published by La República, the Ministry of Mines and Energy said it has a deficit of 6 trillion pesos to cover electricity subsidies. The situation is compounded by the austerity measures of the national government: of the 9.6 trillion pesos budgeted for the sector in 2026, the Ministry of Finance blocked funds totaling 261 billion pesos.

It is essential to clarify that these budgetary tensions within the government limit the state's capacity to subsidize tariffs for end users (especially low-income households), but do not halt the commercial operation of the regasification plant, which is governed by private contracts. In the coming months, attention will turn to how the executive manages this fiscal deficit to prevent the cut in subsidies from directly affecting the electricity bills of the population, while the new Pacific infrastructure begins to strengthen the country's energy security.