Americas News
Panama: Canal Expansion to Make Country an LNG "Nexus"
Víctor Carlos Urrutia Guardia, Panama's secretary of energy last week said that when the Panama Canal expansion is completed in 2016 it could become a nexus for liquid natural gas (LNG) in the region, Fuel Fix reports.
"We’re thinking that Panama has to join the future, and the future is in gas," Urrutia told attendees at Houston’s Offshore Technology Conference.
The canal expansion coincides with the completion of the first facility in the U.S. to export LNG, the Cheniere Energy Inc.'s (Cheniere) Sabine Pass liquefaction terminal on the Louisiana coast.
"With [LNG] actually becoming a market, there might need for a place to do storage, and Panama might be exactly in the proper place to do that," Urruita said.
"We think there's a big future for tying off this LNG distribution idea with the Panama Canal," he continued.
Urrutia said the country is expecting LNG to account for much of the traffic on the canal following the expansion.
E&P reports that about 54 companies in the U.S. have applied for applications to export LNG.
When the expansion is finished, "the opportunities between Houston and Panama will just skyrocket," commented Juan Sosa, consulate of Panama, adding that more than one out of every four vessels from the Port of Houston goes through the Panama Canal.
In addition to aspirations to become a hub for LNG storage and transportation, Urrutia added that Panama, which does not currently produce oil, may be heading to open its waters for oil exploration.
Last week, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced a new toll structure for vessels transiting the Panama Canal had been approved.
