The deck plan that ENAP is preparing to have idle capacity of LNG Quintero
The administration of the oil company would be evaluating lease all or part of regasification volumes will have after plant expansion.
Months ago that the administration of the National Petroleum Company (ENAP) is maturing a new business model that has a dual purpose: to exploit the full capacity of the LNG plant in Quintero and contribute to their process efficiencies, which in 2013 meant to the company savings of about $ 400 million.
The plan would involve oil lease all or part of the regasification capacity will correspond to the regasification plant for liquefied natural gas (LNG), once the extension of this compound, which shares ownership with Spanish Company Enagás ends and Oman Oil, Endesa Chile and Metrogas.
The ENAP itself reported last year that their own consumption of natural gas account for only 40% of what they receive from the Quintero terminal/plant, while the remaining 60% allocated to the third parties, which include power generators, residencial distributors and a growing number of industrial customers, which include Copec.
However, the state company with expanded plant capacity will be idle regasification and which must be paid in any event. In its 2013 report shows that the amount is approximately U.S. $ 70 million and allows them to get the oil (as gasified LNG to transport by truck).
To that it is added a fixed amount that run by ENAP and also mentioned in the 2013 report of the firm. This has to do exclusively with access to natural gas and settled in the contract amendment between oil and BG, where at same time of getting access to supply with new market conditions, the oil company accepted a clause (take or pay) for a volume daily around 2.3 million cubic meters (million m3 / d), representing about half of the capacity when the terminal/plant will increase its capacity to 10-15 million m3 / d.
Pro and cons
The formula must be validated by the new CEO of the company, the former energy minister Marcelo Tokman, and before it can be applied, must be discussed and endorsed by the board, that a couple of weeks completed its renewal after the addition of two members (Jorge Bande and Fidel Miranda) appointed by the new government. They joined the Minister of Energy, Maximo Pacheco, who chairs the board, and vice president of CORFO, Eduardo Bitran.
Knowledgeable on the subject say that this formula was introduced a couple of months ago to the directory, but this took no instance were the authorities so that the new government which could define the topic.
Among the pro model lease is that ENAP could not only reduce fixed costs, since there is electrical, as Colbún or AES Gener, who might be interested in this model that would open the doors of the plant, but without having to sign long-term gas contracts but that buying LNG on the spot market as needed to have, in a scheme of flexibility and process in the plant.
Colbún, for example, already used the gas that has contracted with Metrogas for the period from January to April. Now, it has only secured with ENAP to June for a supply unit Nehuenco center.
Flesh out an operation of this type, would comply with the stated intention of the minister Pacheco put into operation as soon as possible all the natural gas plants as a way to reduce the presence of diesel and matrix and thus lower prices energy. However, some see in this plan a complication for ENAP plans to turn over the medium term in a vehicle energy management.
Source: Diario Financiero
