Ecopetrol is a world-class integrated oil and gas company based in Colombia, focused on hydrocarbon production. Throughout the entire hydrocarbon value chain, Ecopetrol provides exploration, production, transportation, refining, and commercial operations. Consequently, it is no surprise that Ecopetrol has become a leading energy group operating across Latin America. Nonetheless, throughout all its activities, Ecopetrol remains committed to integrating technology and innovation to deliver valuable hydrocarbons with sustainability in mind.
Check out the article in the magazine below:
Ecopetrol, formerly Empresa Colombiana de Petróleo S.A., is Colombia’s state-owned energy company, which is the largest and most prominent energy company in the country, responsible for 60% of the nation’s hydrocarbon production. While Ecopetrol’s operations focus on the basins of the Americas, it serves customers worldwide with key energy projects. Globally, Ecopetrol operates and participates in exploration and production ventures in the United States, Brazil, and Mexico.
The first step of Ecopetrol’s value chain is in the exploration for hydrocarbons, where the company is focused on exploring, discovering and appraising commercially viable hydrocarbon accumulations. In Colombia, Ecopetrol’s current exploration projects include onshore activities in the Llanos Orientales and Mid-Magdalena Valley basins. In Llanos Orientales, Ecopetrol has been developing, maturing and drilling prospects in the north of Arauca. These operations are in high-productivity fields, which have been associated with the existing Arauca-Caño Limón oil field. Then, Ecopetrol has been exploring and appraising heavy crude prospects near the Chichimene-Acacias-Lorito and Castilla production trains, which will be developed in line with existing infrastructure. In the Mid-Magdalena Valley basin, Ecopetrol has been recording seismic information to understand the potential for exploration concepts. This is being carried out in cooperation with Ecopetrol’s strategic partners within the region.
One of these strategic partners is Ecopetrol’s subsidiary Hocol, which engages in the oil and gas production, transportation and commercialisation in Colombia. Therefore, Hocol is an incredibly valuable tool for Ecopetrol, as this subsidiary has helped expand its operations from the Upper Magdalena Valley to northern Colombia and the Llanos region. Hocol have been focused on the exploration of medium and light crudes in the Higher Magdalena Valley and in the central part of the Llanos basin, as well as towards gas exploration on the north coast and Lower Magdalena Valley. Thus, a key part of Ecopetrol’s Colombia Onshore exploration strategy relies on Hocol to oversee the company’s exploration operations.
The next key aspect of Ecopetrol’s operations is the production of hydrocarbons. As we have seen, Ecopetrol is responsible for 60% of the production of hydrocarbons in Colombia, and so this aspect of its operations is vast and vital to the company’s overall economic development. In 2020, the Ecopetrol Group achieved 697,000 barrels of oil per day (boed), which represented a 99.6% fulfilment of 2020’s goal. Now 5 years later, Ecopetrol is reported to have surpassed its 2025 drilling targets and is currently delivering a production rate of 751,000 boed. This figure is above the expected 2025 target and highlights the ongoing success of Ecopetrol’s production in Colombia.
Once crude oil and gas are produced from Ecopetrol’s wells across Colombia, these are then passed over to Ecopetrol’s transport business, which is responsible for taking these resources through pipelines, multi-purpose pipelines (polyducts) and multimodal transport systems, which take the crude from production to refineries and export ports. This division of Ecopetrol’s operations has been overseen by Cenit, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, responsible for resource transportation operations.
Following transportation, crude oil and natural gas are then processed through Ecopetrol’s refining and petrochemical infrastructure. In Colombia, Ecopetrol operates the Barrancabermeja and Cartagena refineries, and this is where the oil and gas resources are transformed into value-added products for selling in the company’s marketing division. The Barrancabermeja Refinery is the main refining centre for Colombia, capable of processing up to 250,000 barrels per day. This refinery deals with 80% of the country’s domestic fuel demand. However, following the 100th anniversary of the refinery in 2022, Ecopetrol outlined a range of modernisation projects that aimed to increase the capacity and deliver more refined products for Colombia. The other key refinery is Cartagena Refinery, which today has a 210,000 barrels per day capacity. Collectively, these refineries bring great value to Ecopetrol’s crude oil, transforming these vital resources into profitable products that can be sold down the hydrocarbon chain.
The final aspect of Ecopetrol’s operation is for sales and marketing, where the company connects its crude oil, petrochemical, gas and energy products with markets on both a local and international level. The sales and marketing division is responsible for the sale of crude oil and gas products extracted from its fields, as well as petrochemical and industrial products produced in the refineries, towards national and international markets. In addition, Ecopetrol purchases crude oil from royalties and third parties in order to optimise its refinery throughput, whilst importing diluent needed for transporting heavy crude through its pipelines. Plus, to supplement its own supply and commitment to customers, Ecopetrol also acquires fuels and petrochemicals as needed from the international market.
As Ecopetrol moves towards the future, sustainability remains a leading concern among energy companies, especially as the world moves towards the global energy transition. For this reason, Ecopetrol have developed the Generating Value with Sustainability pillar of its operations, which is part of the company’s 2040 Strategy to deliver ‘Energy that Transforms’. This oversees Ecopetrol’s sustainability agenda and the movement of the company towards its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). A key example of this was highlighted in November, when Ecopetrol announced that consultations are nearing finalisation for the construction of the Windpeshi Wind Farm. The Windpeshi Wind Farm plans to be one of Ecopetrol’s largest projects and will encompass 41 state-of-the-art wind turbines, each with a 5-megawatt (MW) capacity. Collectively, the wind farm will have an installed capacity of up to 205MW. The Windpeshi Wind Farm aims to generate around 8% of Ecopetol’s energy consumption, which will be clean energy and, in the process, will prevent more than 140,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted annually from the company’s operations.
The Windpeshi Wind Farm is currently in discussions with the local communities in the area of influence of the wind farm in La Guajira . According to Bayron Triana, Vice President of Energy Transition at Ecopetrol, a successful series of meetings has been conducted prior to the consultation agreements, which have established relationships with 30 certified communities in the local area. Triana outlined, “We are making a big commitment to turning La Guajira into the development for the Energy Transition that the country needs. That is why we celebrate that the communities have expressed their willingness to work together with Ecopetrol and government entities to promote the development of the great energy potential of this territory, in which the communities are our main ally.” Tiana’s comments highlight just how valuable the communities are in helping Ecopetrol deliver such a vital clean energy project, which will significantly contribute towards the company’s global energy transition operations.
Across Ecopetrol’s operations, the entire hydrocarbon chain is covered from exploration and production, to transporting, refining and marketing crude oil products for use across both Colombia and international markets. As the most prominent energy company in Colombia, Ecopetrol is committed to delivering vital energy resources with sustainability and, in the process, developing vital energy projects that help meet the clean energy demands of the future. With the support of its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol’s operations are vast, positioning the company as a leading energy player not just in the Latin American market but across the globe.
Add Comment