Studies of the marine geology of the Panamanian Caribbean are giving indications that there could possibly be natural gas deposits in Panama.
Juan Manuel Urriola, national secretary of Energy, revealed that with a seismic study of the marine area, off the coast, they will begin to analyze with people who have experience in the field.
“We will continue working a couple more months on that confirmation and then take the next step,” Urriola said.
If the existence of natural gas is verified, the Secretary of Energy said that the country would enter another level of economic activity.
“If we are generating with natural gas and that is going to be the transitional fossil fuel, which will be at least 25 to 30 years, it is worth it that we play in that,” Urriola said.
Panama is about to generate 1,100 MW of electricity generation based on LNG gas, with the upcoming commissioning of the Gatún Generator plant, which has an installed capacity of 670 MW and is currently in the testing phase.
Operational since 2018, is the electrical generation of AES Colón, with a capacity of 381 MW.’
Panama’s electricity system is moving towards the green economy with the use of renewable energy within the matrix.
Natural gas is the mixture of gases obtained from the extraction or industrial processing and which is mainly made up of methane.
In Panama there are two plants that operate on a natural gas basis. One is operational and the other in the testing phase.
In the country, electricity generation is mostly from hydroelectric projects, although there is a matrix with several modalities.
By not having local production, these companies import natural gas from various markets.
Urriola did not want to advance further details, because he simply wanted to share a letter that they sent him about it.
In Latin America, the countries with natural gas deposits are Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia (bordering Panama), Peru, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
Renewable energy
The American company Chevron recently announced that it will not sell bunker C fuel anymore, the Secretary of Energy said.
This does not mean that the generators that use the fuel cannot purchase it from other suppliers, but the decision sends a message.
“Send a message to start seeing how they change, because tomorrow it may be someone else who by company policy says: ‘we don’t go that way anymore’,” he said.
In total, it is estimated that 40% of the electricity in the country is generated with the help of bunker C.
Among the generators that use this type of fuel is Pedregal, located in Pacora, operational since 2003, which has a capacity of 53MW.
Also, appears Panam, where the fire was generated on the night of March 16, which caused a national blackout that lasted several hours.
The power plant is located in the district of La Chorrera, has 25 years of operation and has an installed capacity of 147 MW.