Barrancabermeja Refinery begins new stage of work to continue improving gasoline quality

This Ecopetrol release was published using machine translation.

In order to continue advancing along the path of cleaner fuels, Ecopetrol reports that this weekend it will begin the work required to further reduce the amount of sulfur in the Barrancabermeja Refinery gasoline hydrotreating unit (Prime G). .

These works, along with other complementary works that will be carried out in the course of the next few months, will allow the delivery of gasoline of 50 parts per million sulfur (ppm) throughout the country in 2021, a quality superior to that required by the standard current, anticipating the commitments made to improve air quality in all cities in Colombia.

The works of the Prime G unit, consisting of technological improvements in the internal parts of the reactors, maintenance of equipment and new formulation of the catalyst, will also maximize the production of gasoline, thereby reducing imports.

In total, there are 252 people who will be linked to jobs, with a local labor force participation of 94%, which will contribute to reviving the economy and generating employment in the region.

The refinery, in conjunction with allied contractor companies Ut Italco, Mourik, Axens and Insercor, has defined rigorous biosafety protocols in order to protect workers and prevent the spread of covid-19.

Biosecurity measures include the mobilization of personnel from their residences to the refinery facilities, the general disinfection of the areas, the location of people and the development of work, maintaining social distance, as well as hand washing, hydration and protocol for the use of restrooms, provision, use and disinfection of personal protection elements, taking food and other aspects that guarantee the end of the day and safe departure from home.

Due to the high degree of specialization of the jobs, the shutdown requires a minimum of foreign personnel, experts in changing the catalyst. This activity will be carried out by the international company Mourik, which, in compliance with government regulations, has the respective authorization issued by the Barrancabermeja District Mayor's Office.

In total, there are 14 foreign workers who, since June 1, have been in quarantine, have a negative test for COVID-19 and are housed in the Club Miramar facilities, inside the refinery, during the 17 days they will remain in the city. .

Refinery increases load

To respond to the gradual reactivation of demand for fuels in the interior of the country, the Barrancabermeja Refinery increased its load from 140,000 to 176,000 barrels per day between May 10 and June 12.

To guarantee these volumes, the entire unit 200 was put into service. In this way, four of the five crude units that start the refining process for the production of fuels are in operation.

The Barrancabermeja Refinery has gradually increased the number of plants and workers following strict biosecurity protocols that include taking the molecular COVID-19 PCR tests for new personnel who are entering.

Additionally, in coordination with the Health department of Ecopetrol in the Magdalena Medio region, it carries out a screening of workers who had been working as part of the active search for people who may have the virus, but who do not have symptoms. So far Ecopetrol has carried out a total of 2,800 tests on direct and allied workers in Barrancabermeja.