IAHL Corporation (IAHL)

[antisubmarinewarfare]

Just found this today on a search for Altenesol Articles. Nice. Hang in there guys.

http://www.argusmedia.com/pages/NewsBody.aspx?id=1101385&print=yes

Colombian small-scale LNG developers eye Caribbean

10 Sep 2015 15:17 (+01:00 GMT)

Bogota, 10 September (Argus) — Developers of a small-scale LNG project in northern Colombia are eyeing Caribbean and Central American markets where many countries are seeking to wean off of oil for power generation.

Canadian independent Canacol Energy and US IAHL Colombian subsidiary Altenesol plan to start operating a liquefaction plant in Cordoba province in 2017.

Colombian utility Empresas Publicas de Medellín (EPM) and Miami-based Adventus Fuel have already committed to the first 15mn ft3/d (420,000 m3/d) train of the Nataly-1 plant. Altenesol is in separate negotiations to place the second 15mn ft3/d train.

The facility, the first of its kind in Colombia, will distribute the LNG on specially designed container trucks that give the company flexibility to export LNG on cargo ships and service domestic markets by road. Altenesol tells Argus that in addition to export markets, it is also exploring the potential for gas-based road transport.

Altenesol expects to close financing within two months for the $110mn liquefaction plant. The company says 30pc will be financed with equity and the remaining 70pc through financing from Colombian and Canadian banks.

Gas producer Canacol is a partner in the Altenesol-led project with a 26pc stake that it bought in exchange for investing $13mn.

The Nataly-1 liquefaction plant is adjacent to Canacol's VIM-5 license gas fields Nelson, Palmer and Clarinete that currently produce around 20mn ft3/d. The company is aiming to boost output to 83mn ft3/d by December 2015.

The liquefaction project, located in El Viajano, Sahagún municipality, appears to position Canacol to better monetize its modest gas production at a time when many fellow independents in Colombia are struggling under the weight of sagging oil prices.

Barbados-based Cavengas Holdings recently acquired 19.9pc of Canacol´s shares for C$78.9mn ($59.6mn), two thirds of which the company plans to use to galvanize capital spending. Canacol allocated 49pc of its $84mn budget this year to gas production and development in Colombia's Lower Magdalena Valley basin.

The Colombian energy ministry's planning unit Upme projects gas demand to grow by around 28pc over the next 10 years, but domestic production is flagging. Gas output averaged 951mn ft3/d in August, down by 12pc from the same month last year.

A group of thermal power generators known as Grupo Termico is negotiating LNG supply for a new regasification terminal that is under construction near Cartagena.

A looming domestic gas shortage has not caused Canadian independent Pacific and Belgian Exmar to withdraw a plan to install 0.5mn t/yr of liquefaction capacity off Cartagena, although the project has been repeatedly reconfigured and delayed.

Pacific aims to export gas from its 46mn ft3/d La Creciente field in Sucre province, adjacent to Canacol's VIM-5 license.

Many nearby Caribbean and Central American countries rely on Venezuela for subsidized oil supply under Venezuela´s 10-year-old PetroCaribe program. But economic and political uncertainty in Caracas has fueled widespread doubts about the sustainability of supply.

US companies are also preparing small-scale LNG export plans to meet incipient demand in the Caribbean.