How Colombia's Cenit is embracing the clean energy transition

Colombian pipeline operator Cenit, a subsidiary of state oil company Ecopetrol, is taking a leading role in the Andean country's decarbonization plans. Vidal Ramírez, Cenit's VP of operational planning, speaks to BNamericas about the opportunities and challenges ahead as the company diversifies its business model. This is the first installment of a two-part interview.

BNamericas: How are you addressing the issue of the energy transition and what will be its impact on Cenit's business plans?

Ramírez: We’re completely aware of the energy transition and we have mainly identified three lines to address it. The first has to do with the recomposition of the energy matrix that the company has today and we highlight that it is quite clean, since a good part of the energy we consume comes from the network of the national electrical energy transmission system. Everyone knows that Colombia's energy matrix is quite clean because it largely comes from hydro plants, so we have that advantage. However, it’s necessary to point out that we still have some plants that consume gas, crude oil or diesel.

In this sense, we face the first challenge related to the transition to cleaner energy sources. We’re addressing a second area, focused on energy efficiency, which involves optimizing the consumption of the energy necessary for our current operations. Even if it comes from clean sources, we recognize the importance of being efficient in the execution of our operations to guarantee the lowest possible energy consumption.

Finally, we have the purchase of carbon credits that are generated through green projects. On the one hand, we buy carbon credits, and on the other hand we leverage projects with those initiatives that are being developed in Colombia, and that contribute significantly to reducing the carbon footprint.

BNamericas: What are the next steps regarding the recomposition?

Ramírez: At Cenit we’ve been developing projects that are related to the construction of solar parks. To date we already have nine solar parks in operation. This is allowing us to obtain a little more than 62MW of power, which are being used in the plants, in our operations, and the surpluses are being sold to the Ecopetrol group.

With this we’re obtaining, on the one hand, much cleaner energy that contributes positively to reducing the carbon footprint, and on the other hand, we’re obtaining significant economic benefits by having energy that is considerably cheaper than that offered on the market, especially given the current situation related to the El Niño phenomenon and its impacts [lack of rainfall] on the energy sector.

So that’s extremely positive for us. It must be said that during this year we hope to put into operation three more parks that should allow us to obtain an additional 15MW. That should lead us to close this year with 77MW of clean energy that’s going to our plants to be able to operate. In the future we have other projects focused on 2024 and 2025 that will increase this capacity even more. By 2025 we’ll be generating more or less between 190MW and 200MW of clean energy to be used in our operations.

BNamericas: Are there plans to develop renewable electricity generation projects on a commercial scale?

Ramírez: We consider it to be a viable option. However, it’s important to highlight that the current Colombian regulation does not allow us to be generators at this time. Therefore, we will operate under the self-generation model. Our strategy involves continuing to generate energy from non-conventional renewable sources for our internal consumption and selling the surplus to other companies of the Ecopetrol group, as we’ve been doing in principle.

BNamericas: Are you considering other projects from renewable sources, other than solar?

Ramírez: Yes. Another source that we consider crucial for the work we carry out is related to the acquisition of small hydroelectric plants, or SHPs. Last year we purchased the first small hydroelectric plant of the Ecopetrol group. We acquired it at the end of the year and it’s a small hydroelectric plant called Cantayus, which is located near the Cisneros station [a refined products pumping plant]. This SHP has installed capacity of 4.3MW and it supplies 100% of the energy requirements of our Cisneros station, and we have a surplus that we place in the network to be used in another of our plants. This SHP is helping us avoid the emission of 63,000t of CO2 per year.

BNamericas: Are there wind and tidal energy projects?

Ramírez: That's correct. We’re also working on these types of projects. In fact, regarding tidal energy, we’ve been carrying out a series of studies on the Caribbean coast and the Colombian Pacific, where we have facilities to identify the viability of generating energy from marine sources. Regarding wind energy, we’re working on a potential measurement campaign, basically in four of our plants, which we aim to complete in the second half of this year.

We’re doing these studies in Pozos Colorados, in the north of the country; in Coveñas, which is the other port that we also have on the north coast; in Albán, which is a plant located in the interior of the country; and in Altos del Porvenir, a plant which is located in the eastern plains. Once we’ve concluded these studies, we’ll begin the installation of the towers to carry out potential measurements on site and based on that, validate the viability of the projects. We’re hoping to capture roughly 8MW of clean energy through these wind farms.

BNamericas: What are the initiatives you’re developing regarding energy efficiency?

Ramírez: For some years we’ve been working very hard on the issue of optimizing energy consumption in all our facilities. Today, we have the integrated operations center and from there we carry out the supervision and operation of our entire transportation network through oil and polyducts. In this center we’ve made very important technological developments that have allowed us to make significant progress in optimizing energy consumption.

For this year, for example, we avoid the consumption of 8,389MWh, in 2022 we avoid approximately 8,800MWh and in 2021 almost 9,200MWh. On the one hand, this contributes significantly to reducing our carbon footprint, but it also helps us reduce the amounts we have to allocate to pay for the energy we require to operate. In 2022 we were winners of the ANDESCO energy efficiency award, in the industry, commerce and services category, and last year we obtained ISO 50001 certification in energy management for some of the company's plants.

BNamericas: And what about nature-based solutions?

Ramírez: We’re acquiring carbon credits to be able to complement the needs we have to reduce the carbon footprint and the purchase of these bonds. We’re investing in projects that are developed here in Colombia. Additionally, we have a tree planting campaign, which will allow us to have planted a little more than 1.8mn trees by the end of this year.

Something that’s really important to us is that since 2021, the company and the hydrocarbon transportation segment in Colombia is carbon neutral, which makes our country the first country in the world which has a segment dedicated to the transportation of liquid hydrocarbons that is carbon neutral.