Ecopetrol details US$180mn Cartagena refinery expansion plan

Colombian state-run oil company Ecopetrol has outlined plans to invest US$180mn to increase capacity at its Cartagena refinery on the Caribbean coast.   

The expansion will integrate the refinery's original 80,000b/d crude unit with the avant-garde 165,000b/d Reficar complex that was completed in 2015 at a cost of US$8bn, according to an environmental impact study.

It is understood effective capacity will rise to around 200,000b/d from 150,000b/d. 

Construction work is expected to take 41 months, though a completion date has yet to be defined. 

In its project description filed with environmental regulator Anla, Ecopetrol said it scrapped initial plans for the development of adjacent docking facilities and a walkway zone.

The study identified 14 likely impacts of the initiative: seven physical, three biotic and four socioeconomic.

Anla will hold a public hearing for the project on February 27. 

Colombia currently has 400,000b/d of refining capacity, including the 250,000b/d Barrancabermeja facility in central Santander department, also operated by Ecopetrol.

In its latest capital expenditure plan released in December, Ecopetrol said it would invest US$48mn in the Cartagena refinery expansion this year.