At the end of the year, two years after its incorporation, Gasmar began operations with the docking of the gas carrier “Mundogas Atlantic,” which unloaded 12,574 tons. With this, Gasmar’s customers—liquefied gas distribution companies—began receiving this fuel from various parts of the world in accordance with international standards, marking a milestone in the Chilean market. Since then, the national network has received HD-5 propane, the highest-quality liquefied gas available worldwide.

Operations began on the propane pipeline—owned by Sonacol—from Quintero to the district of Maipú, enabling LPG shipments via pipeline directly to Santiago, in addition to continuing truck loading for other unconnected destinations.

During this year, due to the suspension of liquefied gas supplies from Enap, Gasmar’s customers increased their demand, which was met through increased maritime imports. This coincided with the start of construction on the fifth and largest tank, with a capacity of 60,000 m³, at the Quintero Terminal; this tank began operations in late 2014, bringing the total refrigerated LPG storage capacity to 145,000 m³.
This 70% increase in storage volume allowed Gasmar to reduce the number of days ships remained in port, while also increasing the security of its liquefied gas supply to customers in the event of potential shortages.
At the end of the year, Gasmar and Abastible formed the company Hualpén Gas S.A., which took over operations of the San Vicente Maritime Terminal—owned by Abastible—in the Biobío Region. Gasmar contracted terminal services from this company, adding another 40,000 m³ of capacity and gaining the ability to directly supply the southern region. This company operated jointly until early 2020.

With the launch of the Panama Canal expansion, the vessel “Yuricosmos” was the first VLGC (the largest type of gas carrier on the market) bound for the Quintero terminal to traverse the Canal, less than a month after its expansion was inaugurated. The use of this infrastructure resulted in a reduction in travel time from 26 days (via the Strait of Magellan route) to 14 days, leading to a significant reduction in logistics costs.

Despite the unique challenges posed by the pandemic, we were able to utilize the installed capacity of our Quintero Terminal and, combined with excellent logistics management, we were able to consolidate our international sales business, supplying other markets—primarily Africa—with a total of 277,000 tons of liquefied gas.

The Mejillones Terminal began operations, with a storage capacity of 20,000 m³.