Greenpower obtains permission to industrialize local gas after almost five years of negotiations

Greenpower Internacional, a gas company whose partner is FNX, part of the Spanish business conglomerate Centauro, After almost five years of negotiations, it obtained the authorization for the construction of a plant for the liquefaction, commercialization and transportation of natural gas in Ecuador. This initiative seeks to invest $ 25 million in the construction of the plant in Bajo Alto, province of El Oro, to industrialize national natural gas.

The permit was obtained by the company this January 12 through the Ministerial Agreement MERNN 2022 002 AM, which was based on Executive Decree 302 signed on December 27 by the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, and by which he delegates to the ministry the ability to sign administrative acts that have to do with industrialization processes.

For Jorge Luis Hidalgo, manager of Greenpower, the initial project is to build a natural gas liquefaction plant with a capacity of 8 million cubic feet per day, whose location would be in Bajo Alto and with technology that allows it to be mobile. Your location would be near two other plants that exist at the moment: Bajo Alto Petroecuador and Gasvesubio, of the Eljuri group (which still does not have all the operating permits).

The idea of Greenpower es industrializar gas natural local which would be obtained from at least three sources. First of all, the 2 million per day of gas that are burned in the Petroecuador plant’s mega burner. It is gas volume equals 440,000 gallons of diesel. A few months ago, the transportation sector of El Oro had shown interest in carrying out a pilot plan so that the transportation units migrate to gas and thus be able to be more friendly to the environment and an alternative to the problem of subsidies. When asked why Petroecuador cannot do the same conversion of the lighter gas, Hidalgo explained that this plant does not have the technology and does not work at full capacity either, since it has had problems of various kinds and even collapses.

Additionally, it indicates that it has plans to seek agreements with Celec EP and Termogas Machala in order to optimize the use of gas which is currently used in a forced way in that plant. Third, it aspires to access gas from Campo Amistad, which has great production potential, especially when the new round is launched off shore for this field.

Meanwhile, the plant Gasvesubio de Eljuri, which began construction in 2009, does not start working yet; but a few weeks ago the company obtained a permit to import natural gas, so its operation could include imported fuel and from what is known it would seek to supply the ceramic industries and other potential clients.

The approval of the activity for Greenpower comes days after the ministry announced that the US company Sycar would carry out on January 11 the first import from Panama to Ecuador of 2 million cubic feet of gas per month.

According to Hidalgo, the importation of gas is welcome and the idea is to be able to compete in the same conditions in the market. In any case, he explained that national gas production, having fewer processing phases, is cheaper and its price is very competitive. He indicated that an added value of his project is that it contributes to the energy security of the country.

The government of Guillermo Lasso has indicated internationally that he intends to reduce methane gas emissions. Likewise, the Ecuadorian justice has issued a sentence by which Ecuador must put out 447 lighters that exist in the Amazon and that burn gas associated with oil fields. These generate health problems for the population.

Hidalgo confirmed that his company would also be interested in processing gas from the Amazon, but explained that at the moment a series of regulatory obstacles must be cleared. (I)