CABEI contributes to strengthen the Natural Gas sector in Central America
The analyzes of CABEI’s intervention strategy show that the use of natural gas would have a positive impact on the trade balance of the countries, by substituting imports of manufactured goods and the lower cost compared to other fuels.
Tegucigalpa, August 28, 2020. - The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) at the regional level has assumed important leadership in developing an Intervention Strategy to Strengthen the Natural Gas Sector in Central America, therefore this Friday, it developed the Forum on Challenges and Opportunities to Promote the use of Natural Gas in SICA Countries.
In this sense, CABEI’s Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, along with stakeholders from the public and private sectors, raised their points of view on the opportunities and challenges that exist in the countries of the region in order to increase the participation of this source of energy in the region. In addition, the multilateral presented the most relevant aspects identified in the process of developing the Strategy.
“The use of natural gas is the global trend in the diversification and decarbonization strategy of economies, due to climate change challenges, for this reason the Bank’s Intervention Strategy to Promote the Natural Gas Sector in Central America has identified the main barriers, restrictions and legal and regulatory challenges that need to be addressed for the development of a natural gas market in the region”, emphasized Dr. Dante Mossi.
As an example, he mentioned the project that could be considered the most emblematic, it is the Atlantic Natural Gas Power Generation and North Coast of Panama Regasification Terminal Central Project. CABEI’s participation amounted to USD 140 million and this is the first power generation project powered by natural gas in the Central American region, marking a milestone in the development of electricity markets in the region.
Likewise, CABEI’s strategy has focused on analyzing gas plants in the Dominican Republic and Panama, as well as projects underway in El Salvador and Nicaragua to determine potential future investments, including proposals for the development of a regional gas pipeline.
An interesting fact highlighted in the forum are the figures at the regional level, which reflect that the total electricity production in 2018 was slightly higher than in 2017 with a growth of 2.1% and the figures registered in recent years show a significant direction towards the path of renewable energies, while in the use of fossil fuels there is a lower share of oil derivatives and an increase in the share of coal and natural gas.