Colombia's second LNG regasification terminal could begin within weeks as the government moves to ease fears of a looming natural gas deficit.

Energy ministry planning unit UPME is finalizing details of a tender for liquefied natural gas import infrastructure on the Pacific coast in line with new regulations, according to documents seen by BNamericas.

"It is hoped that the formal opening of the process will occur in the first few months of the current year," UPME director general Ricardo Ramírez said in a letter to comptroller general Carlos Felipe Córdoba.

Slated for the port of Buenaventura, the Pacific LNG terminal would regasify up to 400Mf3/d and store up to 170,000m3. It is due online in 2023 at a cost of US$400mn.

UPME has said the tender process will also include a pipeline component, linking the plant to Yumbo, on the northern outskirts of Cali. Investment in the pipeline is expected to reach US$260mn.

In his letter, which addresses concerns about the project raised by Córdoba, Ramírez said a technical study proposed that every user pay a uniform transport charge, regardless of their location.

He also reiterated UPME's recommendation that a natural gas planning advisory committee be created to analyze new infrastructure projects.