Frontera Energy has moved its Puerto Bahía LNG import project further towards operation after securing both a seven-year service agreement with Ecopetrol and floating storage and regasification capacity for the new Colombian import route.
The project is being developed at Puerto Bahía in Cartagena, where Frontera owns a 99.97% interest in the multipurpose maritime and logistics terminal. Under the Ecopetrol agreement, Puerto Bahía will receive LNG, regasify it, and deliver natural gas at agreed delivery points.
The first phase is intended to provide 126 million cubic feet per day of regasification capacity from 2027, increasing to 300 million cubic feet per day after the first two years. The seven-year take-or-pay structure gives the terminal a committed customer volume against which its floating regasification capacity and shore-side infrastructure can be developed.
Excelerate Energy has separately confirmed a seven-year charter agreement with Puerto Bahía for the FSRU Express. The vessel is due to move to Colombia after completing its current charter and a planned dry dock, with service expected to begin during the first quarter of 2027.
That timing makes the project a relatively compressed infrastructure programme because several interfaces have to be completed before the vessel arrives. Port facilities, LNG transfer arrangements, gas send-out equipment, control systems, metering, and the connection into Colombia’s downstream network all have to be ready for commissioning.
Puerto Bahía begins from a stronger physical position than an entirely greenfield LNG terminal. The site covers around 150 hectares and already operates liquids and general cargo infrastructure, while its liquids terminal has nominal capacity of approximately 2.672 million barrels.
The terminal also has an existing connection towards the nearby Cartagena refinery, known as Reficar. Frontera intends to use that infrastructure as part of the natural-gas delivery route, reducing the amount of new pipeline development required between the port and the national transport system.
Existing environmental licensing and the port concession already permit LNG imports, removing another development step that might otherwise lengthen the project schedule. Those advantages are central to Frontera’s argument that Puerto Bahía can move from agreement to commercial operation more quickly than a completely new import terminal.
The use of an FSRU shortens part of the engineering programme as well. LNG storage and vaporisation equipment are carried on the vessel, allowing the shore-side project to concentrate on berthing, transfer systems, utilities, controls, safety systems, and gas export rather than constructing the complete storage and regasification plant on land.
The trade-off is dependence on a marine asset whose availability becomes critical to the terminal. The FSRU must complete its current employment, pass through dry dock, arrive in Colombia, and commission successfully before the contracted import service can begin.
The Ecopetrol take-or-pay agreement reduces a different risk. By reserving contracted service volume over seven years, it gives Puerto Bahía a defined revenue base rather than leaving the first phase entirely dependent on spot demand for imported gas.
Frontera has also identified room for incremental third-party demand as Colombia’s domestic gas supply balance tightens. The development case is being framed around growing supply deficits and periods of weather-related pressure, although additional terminal capacity will only become commercially useful if other customers commit to using it.
The project therefore has expansion potential without making that potential equivalent to contracted demand. The first phase starts at 126MMcfd, Ecopetrol’s commitment rises to 300MMcfd after two years, and further utilisation would require additional commercial agreements and sufficient downstream transport capacity.
Puerto Bahía is adding the LNG project while continuing to expand its wider terminal business. LPG import operations began in March 2026, giving the site another gas-related activity alongside its established liquids, general cargo, and vehicle-handling operations.
Running those businesses simultaneously makes construction sequencing more important. New LNG systems have to be installed and commissioned without unnecessarily disrupting existing port activity, while safety separation between LNG, petroleum products, cargo operations, and marine traffic has to be maintained throughout the development programme.
The project is consequently moving beyond the stage where the principal question is whether a customer or FSRU can be found. Both are now identified. The remaining execution risk sits increasingly in the physical integration of the vessel, terminal, pipeline connection, and customer delivery system.
Early 2027 remains the important marker. If FSRU Express reaches Cartagena on schedule and the shore-side infrastructure is ready to receive it, Puerto Bahía will have turned existing port assets into a new gas-import route. The commercial framework is largely in place; the next test is whether all of the engineering arrives at the same time.
