Ecopetrol advances Barrancabermeja upgrade
Ecopetrol SA has moved into the second phase of a major upgrade and expansion of its 250,000-b/sd Barrancabermeja refinery in Colombia.
The state-owned oil company has released Foster Wheeler’s Global Engineering and Construction Group to perform work under the new phase. The release includes additional project management consultancy and front-end engineering design; detailed engineering for crude-unit revamps; assistance with selection for engineering, procurement, and construction contracts; and control and supervision of EPC and construction contractors.
The project will raise refining capacity to 300,000 b/sd. It includes a new crude unit, delayed coker, hydrocracker, coker naphtha hydrotreater, and hydrogen and other units (OGJ, Nov. 28, 2008, Newsletter).
Ecopetrol started up a hydrotreament complex at the refinery last year (OGJ, Oct. 25, 2010, Newsletter).
Bob Tippee | Editor
Bob Tippee has been chief editor of Oil & Gas Journal since January 1999 and a member of the Journal staff since October 1977. Before joining the magazine, he worked as a reporter at the Tulsa World and served for four years as an officer in the US Air Force. A native of St. Louis, he holds a degree in journalism from the University of Tulsa.
