Colombia has secured financing for the Regasificadora del Pacífico, an LNG import terminal aimed at easing a growing natural gas supply shortfall, the project’s backers said on Tuesday.

Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), Colombia’s state-owned infrastructure development bank, and BTG Pactual provided US$130 million (mn) in senior debt for the project, with each institution committing up to US$65mn.

The loan has a tenor of up to six years and is backed by a long-term take-or-pay contract with state oil company Ecopetrol. Astris Finance acted as exclusive financial adviser to Regasificadora del Pacífico on the transaction.

«The country faces a structural challenge in terms of natural gas supply, particularly in the interior,» FDN acting president Rafael Herz said. «This project represents a concrete, timely and cost-efficient solution to diversify supply sources, increase system reliability and avoid transportation bottlenecks.»

Regasificadora del Pacífico will receive, store, transport and regasify liquefied natural gas through the port of Buenaventura, with volumes trucked to Buga, around 100km away, for injection into Colombia’s pipeline network.

The facility is designed primarily to supply essential demand in the country’s southwest, where gas demand exceeds 80 million cubic feet per day (Mf³/d) and much of it is not covered by long-term contracts.

«With this financing we reaffirm our commitment to developing strategic infrastructure that drives energy security, regional competitiveness and the country’s sustainable development,» Herz added.

BTG Pactual said the transaction marked a milestone in its financing of energy infrastructure in Colombia.

«This project is a concrete response to one of the main challenges of the Colombian energy system,» said Juan Rafael Perez, CEO of BTG Pactual Colombia.

The companies said the financing includes risk mitigation measures backed by experienced operators and international LNG suppliers. They added this would allow the project to supply both southwestern and interior markets at competitive prices.