Colombia says roadmap agreed on to reactivate binational gas pipeline with Venezuela

BOGOTA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Colombia has reached an agreement with its neighbor Venezuela on a roadmap to reactivate the binational Antonio Ricaurte Gas Pipeline as well as energy cooperation in a bid to address natural gas shortages in the country, its Ministry of Mines and Energy said Wednesday.

A 5-km damaged section on the Colombian side will be reestablished along the initial route to revive the pipeline, which has been idle since 2019 due to Venezuela's economic crisis and U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, according to the roadmap. Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA will undertake the repair work.

The roadmap was outlined at a working meeting attended by Colombia's Energy Minister Edwin Palma, officials from the National Environmental Licensing Authority and other related departments, and PDVSA representatives.

"The government has the political will to reestablish energy cooperation with Venezuela and move forward with solutions that strengthen the country's gas supply," Palma said in a statement.

"We are working closely with the environmental sector and technical authorities to reactivate the license and allow the replacement of the section of the pipeline that will enable us to bring gas from Venezuela," he added.

The nearly 225-km-long pipeline, financed by Venezuela with 230 million U.S. dollars and built in 2007, was originally built to export Colombian gas to Venezuela. It has the capacity to transport 500 million cubic feet of gas. ■