Panama is planning the construction and expansion of a liquefied natural gas terminal in an area of eleven thousand square meters in the Port of Cristobal, Telfers Island.
The interactive platform "Construction in Central America", from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, includes an updated list of public and private construction projects that have submitted environmental impact studies (EIA) to the respective institutions in each country.
Local authorities announced plans to build in the province of Colon the Gatun Generating Station, an energy complex that will operate with liquefied natural gas and will require a $1,000 million investment.
The morning of June 1, President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen explained that this project will require a foreign investment from Group Energy Gas Panama, a consortium formed by InterEnergy Group and AES Panama.
Empresa Tomza Guatemala S.A. reported that in Nicaragua the government of President Daniel Ortega illegally expropriated and confiscated the company's assets, which together amount to $4 million in investments.
The expropriation process took several years. Tomza executives explained that in 2015 they were granted the permits for the construction of a property located in the municipality of Tipitapa, department of Managua.
In Panama, plans are underway to build a liquefied natural gas refueling station at the Costa Norte Thermal Power Plant in the province of Colon, which will have the capacity to serve up to three tankers at the same time.
According to the interactive platform "Construction in Central America" of the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, Costa Norte LNG Terminal SRL, submitted to the authorities the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to develop the project called "Loading Station for Liquefied Natural Gas Tankers".
Colon LNG Marketing (a subsidiary of AES Colón) and Tropigas Natural, S.A. (part of the Tropigas group) signed the first contract to supply Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) through the modality of loading by tanker truck for the markets of Panama and Costa Rica.
Elcapitalfinanciero.com reports that "... The agreement allows the use of a clean fossil fuel to provide energy solutions to all types of industry such as food, beverage, manufacturing in general, as well as energy producers, shops, land and sea transport, and the hotel industry."
From January to October 2019, 949 million gallons of fuel were sold, and the demand for 91-octane gasoline decreased 5% over the same period in 2018.
The figures of the General Comptroller of the Republic report that during the first ten months of 2019 the consumption of gasoline in the country, which includes the 91 and 95 octane, amounted to 281 million gallons, 3% more than in the same period last year.
In order for a club soda or a restaurant in Costa Rica to obtain permission to use liquefied petroleum gas, the business must comply with the regulations that have been in effect since September and must then submit to the scrutiny of a certified specialist.
The 133 requirements to be met by restaurants and club soda are contained in the "General Regulations for the Regulation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Supply."
The company AES Panama launched its liquefied natural gas storage system in the province of Colon, from where it plans to supply the entire Central American region.
This liquefied natural gas (LNG) distribution system will supply the 381 MW thermal plant located on site, also owned by AES, which began operating in August 2018.
In the first six months of 2019, Panama sold 577 million gallons of fuel, 2% more than the 563 million gallons reported in the same period in 2018.
According to data published by the General Comptroller of the Republic, it is reported that during the first six months of 2019 the consumption of gasoline in the country, which includes 91 and 95 octane, totaled 167 million gallons, 2% more than in the same period last year.
According to the Panama Canal Authority, NG Power only has permission to build a 130 MW plant, so it will have to go through a new procedure if it expects to develop the 670 MW plant, as planned from the beginning.
The permit requested by Panama NG Power and approved by the Canal Board in 2011, is for two generators of up to 45 MW each and a third steam generator of up to 40 MW, which together total 130 MW.
The U.S. government approved up to $350 million to finance part of the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) power generation plant EDP in Acajutla, El Salvador.
The U.S. government, through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), approved the financing on March 20, 2019, according to the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador.
From January to November last year, fuel sales totaled 1.010 million gallons, 5% less than the 1.058 million gallons reported in the first eleven months of the previous year.
The most recent data published by the General Comptroller of the Republic of Panama details that during the first eleven months of 2018 the consumption of gasoline in the country, which includes the 91 and 95 octane, totaled 300 million gallons, 0.8% more than in the same period last year.
Businessmen in the industrial sector are warning that "expanding the reach of the RECOPE and authorizing it to charge fuel rates is like giving them a blank check on which to write the numbers they want to spend."
Industriales gave reasons for their opposition to the draft Fuels Law, that are related to the law, cost, technical reasons and the country's competitiveness, in a note sent to the Environment Commission of the Legislative Assembly.
The electric power generation plant based on liquefied natural gas has started operating in Colón, Panama, with an installed capacity of 381 MW.
The plant, whose construction beganin May 2016, has three generators, three gas turbines and one steam turbine, giving it a total installed capacity of 381 MW.
"...The AES Colón project consists of two stages.The first is the LNG plant and the second comprises a storage tank that is currently 87% complete and is expected to come into operation next year in 2019, explained Miguel Bolinaga, president of AES in Panama, a mixed capital company in which the Panamanian State has a 50.5% share."
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.