850,000 families in the north and south could be left without natural gas due to the protests

The stoppage of the Kámani compression plant of the natural gas transportation system will restrict the supply due to the recent invasion of protesters who have been destabilizing the country, which puts the gas supply in the northern and southern regions at serious risk.

“The restrictions on the production of LNG affect the supply of natural gas to the concessions in the south west and north of Peru that are supplied with this same liquefied natural gas,” reported Renato Lazolawyer specializing in natural gas and hydrocarbons.

Lazo commented that the Mechanism for Rationing and prioritizing natural gas in favor of the population (natural gas for residential and vehicular use) only protects the population of Lima that has a connection to Camisea via the transportation system of TGP.

“The application of this emergency measure affects the population of the rest of the country that depends on the supply of natural gas through the virtual gas pipeline. This could seriously affect families and economic activities in the regions that make up these concessions,” he explained.

In this sense, the implemented measures will harm more than 850,000 homes in the seven regions that are supplied with natural gas via the virtual gas pipeline, such as Lambayeque, La Libertad, Cajamarca, Ancash, Arequipa, Tacna and Moqueguawhich would be running out of natural gas when the liquefaction processes were paralyzed.

“It is clear that the country does not have a minimum of energy security and that the system, as it has been structured from the beginning, omits the reality of our concessions, generating undue and harmful discrimination against the inhabitants of the regions of our country. . If we do not have a quick solution, in three or four days we could be facing supply problems for the homes of Peruvians who live in those regions of the country”, warned the specialist.

Natural gas: the path is massification

Lazo added that without liquefaction, the demand for natural gas from the regions that make up the concessions of the South and North cannot be met, since they are fed by the “virtual gas pipeline” and that, due to the difficult situation of natural gas shortages due to the stoppage of the liquefaction process ordered in application of Supreme Decree 017-2018-EM, it should be added that, since the end of November, the concessions in the south west and north of the country saw difficulties in their ability to supply themselves due to the transport strike, to which is added , the acts of violence of the last week, which can cause damage to the facilities or to the trucks that transport the LNG.

“You must remain calm and take care of the infrastructure of the natural gas supply system in the country. You must bet on the massification of natural gas with PL 679 and the affectation of the infrastructure would only be detrimental to the most vulnerable because it means the delay and even the loss of employment opportunities and cost reduction for families”, he pointed out.