HOUSTON, March 20 (Reuters) - A pause in licensing for oil and gas exploration areas in Colombia could hit the country's future availability of natural gas, possibly increasing the need for imports, the head of gas transporter Promigas, Juan Manuel Rojas said on Wednesday.
President Gustavo Petro's administration has not organized new bidding rounds for conventional oil and gas exploration, while pushing some companies to revive at least 21 suspended contracts.
Meanwhile in the renewable sector, Colombia's oil regulator, the National Hydrocarbons Agency, in February pushed back the deadline for companies to submit documents to enter the country's first-ever offshore wind auction to June 21, from an earlier deadline of Feb. 21.
The auction process is now expected to close in October 2025, later than the initial May 2025 deadline, according to the regulator's updated timeline.
Promigas transports about 56% of Colombia's natural gas output and operates Colombia's only regasification plant. Rojas' comments were made during the CERAWeek conference in Houston.
State-run Ecopetrol's CEO Ricardo Roa said in a separate interview on the sidelines of CERAWeek that the country is importing up to 30% of its gas needs.
Colombia is weighing options to resolve a gas deficit set to increase as the demand grows, including ramping up purchases of liquefied natural gas (LNG), importing gas from Venezuela and connecting domestic fields.
Promising areas off the country's coast where companies have found reserves are years from delivering first output. They are expected to provide Colombia with at 2.5-4 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas in the lowest case scenario, and up to 12 tcf if most prospects are confirmed, according to Roa. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga Editing by Marguerita Choy)
