UPDATE 2-Ecopetrol gas field could produce up to 30 mln cubic feet a day by 2026

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By Carlos Vargas and Oliver Griffin

BOGOTA, April 11 (Reuters) - The Arrecife gas field could produce between 20 million and 30 million cubic feet per day between 2025 and 2026, said Ricardo Roa, CEO of Colombia's majority state-owned oil company Ecopetrol.

The leftist government of President Gustavo Petro has come under pressure from industry groups urging it to ensure self-sufficiency in gas amid a pause in new exploration licenses.

"Arrecife very quickly will be able to give us between 5 and 10 million cubic feet per day, but surely between 2025 and 2026 it will be giving to the system between 20 and 30 million cubic feet per day," Roa told a gas conference in the city of Cartagena on Thursday.

The field, which is located off Colombia's Caribbean coast, will produce commercial quantities of gas until 2035, and Ecopetrol has also signed a deal with Canada's Parex Resources to develop hydrocarbon projects - particularly gas - in Colombia's Casanare province, the company said in two separate statements.

The government has said the South American nation needs to resolve a gas deficit amid rising demand, with measures to include buying more liquefied gas and possibly importing from neighboring Venezuela.

Ecopetrol will work with the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control to open the way to importing gas from Venezuela, which is under sanctions, Roa said. He has previously said Colombia was importing up to 30% of its gas.

A long-dormant gas tube between the two countries will take between 10 and 12 months to repair, he added.

Colombia's energy minister told the conference on Wednesday the country will look to loosen regulation on gas exploration and supply to meet its needs in 2026 and 2027.

The government has not held any licensing rounds for oil and gas projects amid a push toward a green energy transition.

Some industry participants, such as gas transporter Promigas, have said the lack of new licenses could affect gas availability and increase the need for imports. (Reporting by Carlos Vargas and Oliver Griffin Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Devika Syamnath)