Black & Veatch to study AET’s LNG-to-power project in Colombia

US-based Black & Veatch has won a contract for a feasibility study of the Andes Energy Terminal (AET) project, an LNG-to-power scheme that would serve consumers in central and south-western Colombia.

Under the contract, Black & Veatch will carry out commercial, engineering and technical studies for a plan that encompasses the establishment of an LNG import terminal and a 400-MW natural gas-fired thermal power plant (TPP) on the Aguadulce Peninsula near the port of Buenaventura on Colombia’s Pacific coast. These studies will “build on commercial and technical work previously completed by the sponsors” of the project, the company said in a press release last week.

The press release identified those sponsors as AIM-listed Andes Energy and a “world-leading strategic power solutions vendor” that has thus far remained anonymous. The vendor is “active in more than 180 countries, with [its] technology producing a third of the world’s electricity,” it said.

Black & Veatch did not reveal the value of the contract, which will involve the preparation of detailed implementation and construction plans. However, it noted that the costs of the studies would be covered by a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (TDA).

The feasibility study is designed to “verify the proposed project site’s suitability, define the project design requirements and estimate capital and operating costs,” the statement said. Additionally, it will assess the project’s financial viability and identify potential sources of financing options.

In its press release, Black & Veatch said that the LNG-to-power project would boost the quantity and reliability of power supplies in the cities of central and south-western Colombia, while also contributing to efforts to lower the country’s carbon emissions. Additionally, it stated, the scheme will support long-term plans for promoting trade in hydrogen, as it will involve the construction of liquid fuel storage facilities.

Oscar Falcon, the managing director of Latin America for Black & Veatch’s power business, said he expected the AET scheme to benefit Colombia and the region. “[This] project provides the type of comprehensive planning critical to accelerating the energy transition and enabling greater grid resilience through more-connected infrastructure,” he said. “Across Central and South America, developers of ambitious projects like the Andes Energy Terminal demand thoughtful assessments by trusted experts in everything from LNG and electrical generation to energy storage and emerging technologies. Our expertise across the power market provides the surety developers and investors need to undertake projects of this scale and complexity.”