Operations begin at Panamanian LNG hub

AES Colón consists of a 180 000 m³ LNG tank and a 381 MW combined cycle power plant, which reached commercial operations last year and had been previously operating with gas from temporary sources.

AES claims that the commercial operation of the LNG storage facility will allow for the use of LNG throughout the region and help to establish Panama as the natural gas hub for the Central American region.

Andrés Gluski, AES President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The inauguration of the AES Colón storage facility is a significant milestone toward transforming the Central American energy sector, and enabling a safer and more sustainable energy future.

“Since AES introduced natural gas in the Dominican Republic 19 years ago, it saved consumers more than half a billion dollars a year and avoided approximately four million tons of CO₂ emissions annually.”

AES has reserved 80% of AES Colón’s terminal capacity for use by industrial and commercial companies in Panama and Central America. It is expected that the additional contracting potential will serve as a further source of growth for the company.

According to the statement, the LNG hub at AES Colón was completed in a record time of just 39 months, and has employed over 2000 Panamanians since the start of the project. AES claims that it is planning to construct a similar project in Vietnam in the coming years, which will bring many of these same benefits to Southeast Asia.

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/18102019/operations-begin-at-panamanian-lng-hub/