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Ecopetrol currently consumes about 130 tpy of grey hydrogen (Image: EurActiv)
It will acquire a small-scale electrolysis unit limiting our analysis to green hydrogen.”
capable of using renewable energy to separate He did not say whether any specific blue
water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen in hydrogen projects were under consideration or
the first quarter of 2022, he explained during a how much the green hydrogen pilot project was
conference call on the NOC’s first-half earnings. anticipated to cost.
Ecopetrol intends to buy the unit from a Currently, Ecopetrol uses grey hydrogen
Spanish supplier and install it at the 165,000 for desulphurisation operations at the Carta-
barrel per day (bpd) Cartagena refinery, he said. gena and Barrancabermeja refineries. These
This will set the stage for testing the production two plants consume up to 130 tonnes per year
and application of green fuel at the plant, which (tpy) of hydrogen, with the Cartagena facility
already uses grey hydrogen – that is, hydrogen accounting for 68% of the total and the Barran-
produced directly from fossil fuels – to facilitate cabermeja facility accounting for the other 32%.
the removal of sulphur from gasoline and diesel, Colombia’s government has pledged to
he added. reduce the country’s net emissions of green-
Bayon stressed, though, that the NOC was house gases (GHGs) to zero by 2050. To this
exploring more than one option for hydrogen end, it enacted an energy transition law in July
production. “We are also evaluating blue hydro- that classifies both green and blue hydrogen as
gen,” he said. “The question is how competitive forms of renewable energy that are eligible for
can we be with hydrogen production. We are not tax breaks. ™

VENEZUEL A
Equinor, TotalEnergies exit

Petrocedeño JV with PdVSA

NORWAY’S Equinor and France’s TotalEner- Equinor did not say whether the US sanc-
gies have divested their minority stakes in Pet- tions regime, which aims to discourage invest-
rocedeño, a joint venture formed to upgrade ment in Venezuela’s oil industry, had influenced
extra-heavy crude oil from the Orinoco Belt its decision to divest the stake in the joint ven-
area in Venezuela. ture. It did say, though, that the transfer “sup-
According to a company statement, Equinor ports Equinor’s corporate strategy to focus its
accomplished this move by transferring its portfolio on international core areas and prior-
9.67% non-operating stake in the joint venture itised geographies where Equinor can leverage
to Corporación Venezolana del Petróleo (CVP), its competitive advantages.”
a subsidiary of Venezuela’s national oil company Meanwhile, TotalEnergies (France) said in
(NOC) PdVSA. As a result of this transfer, the a separate statement that it had transferred its
Norwegian company no longer holds any equity own 30.32% stake in Petrocedeño to PdVSA last
in Petrocedeño. week.

Week 31 05•August•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9