Colombia’s Growing Gas Imports Support Midstream Infrastructure in Freight News 27/03/2026 Colombia’s declining domestic gas production and increased reliance on LNG imports have raised the strategic importance and demand visibility of midstream gas infrastructure, says Fitch Ratings. Fitch expects regulated pass-through mechanisms and resilient collections to support stable credit profiles for gas transporters and distributors, even as contracting moves toward shorter tenors amid elevated input prices and a widening supply-demand imbalance. Colombia’s gas network was originally designed to transport gas from the Caribbean coast to interior demand centers. The system evolved to rely on two main supply sources: Caribbean fields serving northern demand (primarily thermal generation) and the inland fields supporting residential and industrial consumption in central Colombia. As production declined in both regions — and with the country’s only LNG import facility located on the coast — the system was upgraded at Ballena to enable bidirectional flows, which are now critical as Colombia increasingly relies on coastal LNG imports, while most consumption remains inland. Colombia’s Unidad de Planeación Minero Energética (UPME) 2023-2038 Natural Gas Supply Plan outlines a three-part strategy to address system constraints: (1) incentivizing exploration and production, (2) optimizing existing infrastructure throughput, and (3) building new pipeline corridors. Prioritizing bidirectional upgrades and pipeline conversions can make greater use of existing routes, reduce execution risk, and deliver additional capacity faster than building new corridors. Several near-term projects could collectively add 718 MPCD to current regasification capacity, bringing the total to 1,175 MPCD and matching projected demand of 1,100 MPCD — of which 20% is regulated as essential (priority residential supply). Fitch expects capacity additions to take place in phases in accordance with demand, mitigating oversupply risk. Infrastructure investments enabling access to the interior via Caribbean and Pacific imports remain critical regardless of international price dynamics, given Colombia’s domestic supply deficit. Regulated frameworks allow full pass-through of commodity costs, transportation, and regasification costs to end users, shifting risk from margin compression to volume and collection performance, unlike power generators, which often face margin pressure from regulatory interventions when electricity bills rise. Fitch expects average contract tenors to decline further as legacy contracts expire and are renewed with shorter maturities due to limited availability of long-term gas supply contracts. Regulatory changes have also increased flexibility in gas marketing, allowing short-term transportation contracts that better match the duration of supply agreements. The resulting reduction in cash flow visibility is mitigated by robust demand and better duration alignment. Spot gas procurement costs could face upward pressure as the domestic supply shortfall widens and international LNG prices rise following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran conflict. Even with additional regasification projects, spot prices could rise to above USD20/MBtu from current levels of about USD12.5/MBtu. While higher costs would increase working capital needs, pass-through mechanisms/provisions should preserve margins despite potential timing mismatches. In an extreme