Colombia’s Ecopetrol S.A. reached the 10 MMbbl milestone related to the sale of its carbon-compensated crude to markets in Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Ecopetrol expects sales to reach at least 8 MMbbl in 2023 compared to 4 MMbbl in 2022, the company said Aug. 10 in a press release.
The sales help Ecopetrol contribute “to the decarbonization of the commercial operations, consistent with the group's carbon emission reduction objectives,” the company said.
Sales are to international oil companies (IOCs) from Reliance, Citgo, Repsol, and PetroChina to Phillips 66. From 2021 to date shipments have consisted of Ecopetrol’s two flagship blends—Castilla and Apiay—produced in Colombia’s Llanos Orientales basin.
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“The compensation covers direct carbon emissions generated throughout the product’s lifecycle, from its production process to its transportation to the Coveñas terminal in the Colombian Caribbean or to the destination port agreed with our customers,” Ecopetrol said.
Crude traded to date has offset 379,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), volumes equal to reducing emissions from deforestation of close to 9,000 hectares of mangrove forest on the Colombian coast over a 10-year period, according to Ecopetrol.
The offsets were derived from high quality-verified natural climate solutions (NCS) projects spanning forest restoration, tree planting, and the conservation of the neotropical high mountain biome or paramos, wetlands, and savannahs, among other actions seeking to avoid greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration.