Colombia seeks emergency jet fuel imports amid supply crisis

The Colombian government has denied reports of a jet fuel shortage despite dozens of canceled flights and the suspension of operations at three airports on Monday. 

Energy minister Andrés Camacho said there was sufficient fuel to ensure "normal operations." 

"The country has a guarantee of supply and now we are reviewing the supply chains and the distribution companies to verify the entire logistics line that allows all supplies in the country to be available,” Camacho told a news conference. 

He said an electricity outage at the Cartagena refinery in mid-August had briefly interrupted jet fuel production but insisted that output had been normalized.

“We’ve been holding permanent work sessions with [state oil company] Ecopetrol to monitor the refinery's operations and also the national fuel supply system,” he added. 

Despite the assurances, Camacho said the government had ordered an investigation by industrial and commercial watchdog SIC to determine whether any irregularities had occurred. 

Earlier, Ecopetrol said it made an urgent order for 100,000b of imported jet fuel, without providing details of the source.

Ecopetrol said cargoes of Jet A1 aviation fuel would arrive this weekend as supplies at the country's airports reach critical levels. 

"With this ... it is projected that by the end of August there will be compliance with the established legal minimum of 95% in the supply of jet fuel, including the production of the Cartagena and Barrancabermeja refineries,” reads an Ecopetrol statement. 

Latam Airlines Colombia canceled 36 flights on Monday and said it had resorted to loading extra fuel on international flights to limit the impact of shortages. 

Colombia's biggest airline, Avianca, said it was limiting ticket sales to curb fuel use. It also announced that passengers whose existing itineraries had been affected could change their tickets without penalty. 

According to local officials, the main airports in the cities of Leticia, Montería and Bucaramanga suspended operations on Monday.