Ministry of Mines and Energy declares scheduled natural gas rationing

The Ministry of Mines and Energy declared the start of Scheduled Natural Gas Rationing across all national production supply sources and the country’s regasification infrastructures. The decision was recorded in Resolution 40524 of 2026, published in the Official Gazette No. 53,638 on September 25, 2026, and responds to a failure detected in one of the regasification trains of the Sociedad Portuaria El Cayao (SPEC LNG), which reduced the available capacity to 400 MMSCFD out of a total of 475 MMSCFD.

The measure is supported by Article 16 of Law 401 of 1997 and Article 2.2.2.2.1 of Decree 1073 of 2015, which mandate the national Government to establish the priority order of service when insurmountable restrictions exist in the natural gas supply. The National Gas Operation Council (CNO Gas) notified the Ministry on September 24, 2026, regarding the operational condition of the infrastructure, and the Hydrocarbons Directorate recommended the declaration to guarantee supply.

According to the recitals, the restriction on essential demand contracted with imported gas amounts to 15 GBTUD. The Ministry invoked Article 2.2.2.30.4 of Decree 1074 of 2015 to issue the act without the prior administrative procedure of competence advocacy before the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, as it concerns an unforeseeable and irresistible event that jeopardizes the continuous provision of an essential public service.

The origin: failure in a SPEC LNG regasification train

• On September 23, 2026, near midnight, SPEC LNG detected an operational condition in one of the FSRU regasification trains that requires immediate intervention.
• From September 24, 2026, and until further notice, the infrastructure is operating temporarily with a regasification capacity of up to 400 MMSCFD (400 MMSCFD out of a total capacity of 475 MMSCFD).
• Gas delivery on September 23 was fulfilled according to the nomination; the company will report the progress and deadlines of the corrective activities.

Demand priority order

Article 2 establishes the order of service among agents who have firm contracts or who guarantee firmness:

• First, essential demand, in the order established by Article 2.2.2.1.4 of Decree 1073 of 2015.
• Second, non-essential demand: thermal generation; industrial demand necessary for the transport of crude oil destined for refining; and current contracts registered with the market manager with a guarantee of uninterrupted supply.
• Third, other current contracts registered with the Natural Gas Market Manager.
• Last, firm-agreed exports.

The volume will be assigned by marketing producers, marketers, importing agents, regasification infrastructure operators, and transporters, who must allow the necessary renominations. CNO Gas will submit a daily report to the Ministry on the application of the prioritization, and the Ministry may issue guidelines via circular.

Price Caps and Additional Gas Supply

Article 3 establishes that gas supplied under this prioritization may not be contracted at a price higher than that agreed upon by the buyer with the owner of the reassigned gas. Contracts must be registered with the Natural Gas Market Manager, in accordance with CREG Resolution 102 015 of 2025.

Article 4 regulates natural gas additional to the Total Production Available for Sale (PTDV) and the Firm PTDV (PTDVF), with reporting requirements to the Ministry and the Market Manager, direct negotiation between the parties, and freedom to set the start and end dates of the contract.

Validity and Publication

The resolution takes effect from its publication and will remain in force until SPEC LNG states that the causes that originated the measures have been overcome and the Ministry declares the cessation, pursuant to the paragraph of article 2.2.2.2.4 of Decree 1073 of 2015. The act was signed by Minister María Nohemí Arboleda Arango and orders its publication in the Official Gazette.

The declaration activates the exceptional mechanism through which the State orders gas consumption when the supply is insufficient to serve all agents. Until regasification capacity is restored, the different demand segments—essential and non-essential—are subject to a mandatory service order and a price cap for reassigned gas.

Source: Official Gazette No. 53,638, September 25, 2026, section I (Ministry of Mines and Energy), p. 4 (official reference: Resolution 40524 of 2026).