In El Salvador, Energía del Pacifico has announced that it has met the requirements to obtain financing, and that it will start construction of the plant in the third quarter of the year.
Panama NG Power has been given authorization to postpone until 2020 the start-up of operations of the natural gas-based generation plant to be built in Cristóbal, in the province of Colón.
The energy supply contracts signed between Panama NG Power and the energy distributors Edemet, Ensa and Edechi were modified so that the start-up of the natural gas plant could be postponed until 2020.
In order for Pacific Energy to start building the natural gas plant at Acajutla port, El Salvador, the Congress must approve a concession law designed specifically for that project.
The concession granted to Energía del Pacifico (EDP) to supply 355 MW of energy generated from natural gas must first have its own concession law, which must be approved by the Legislative Assembly.
In Panama a bill has been put to public consultation that establishes a legal framework for developing the activity of importing natural gas, its storage, local distribution and re-export.
The bill declares the promotion and development of the provision of a public natural gas service in the country to be of public and national interest.The import, export and re-export of natural gas are declared as activities of general interest.
The International Finance Corporation will provide $150 million for the construction of a project to construct an electricity generation plant based on natural gas in the province of Colón.
This new loan is in addition to the syndicated loan in which Banistmo, Bancolombia, Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica Banco General and Global Bank, announced in May 2016.
The 380 MW natural gas plant to be built by AES in Panama promises to change the country's energy matrix, and the way energy is generated and distributed in Central America.
The economic flow that has already started with the construction of the gas plant in the province of Colon will be felt not only in the energy sector in Panama, which could become an energy generating and distribution hub in the region, but also in other productive sectors that will benefit from greater stability in energy costs and generate greater dynamism in logistics and shipping.
The Maritime Authority has signed an agreement with the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA, as part of the strategy to attract new customers within the logistics sector for liquefied natural gas.
From a statement issued by the Panama Canal Authority:
The Panama Canal has signed a cooperation agreement with the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, as part of the strategy to attract new customers in the market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) taking advantage of the benefits afforded by use of the expanded Canal.
The possibility that Guatemala has the necessary amount of natural gas for power generation attracts interest from various sectors.
A few weeks ago City Petén discovered a gas condensate reservoir from which, once refined, superior and regular gasoline and diesel and gas could be obtained. At the moment 250 barrels per day of natural gas are extracted and although this is not enough for industrialization, it could be a sign that there is more in the areas that are to be explored, explained Jose Paez company representative.