Colombian oil transport operator Cenit, a unit of state energy firm Ecopetrol, has carried out a first transport of imported light crude through one of its pipelines, as it looks to repurpose infrastructure to bring new services.
The first shipment of 220,000 barrels through a 16-inch pipeline that was previously used to export crude oil is now on its way to the Barrancabermeja refinery, Cenit CEO Alexander Cadena told Reuters on Wednesday during a visit to Coveñas, a maritime terminal on Colombia's northern Caribbean coast.
The shipment will serve as a pilot that will help decide future volumes, Cadena said.
"We are open to how we can make more efficient use of the current infrastructure," he added. "Reusing infrastructure is the fastest way we can serve and provide new services."
Until now, Colombia has transported imported crude to its refineries via tanker trucks.
Ecopetrol subsidiaries have a storage capacity of nine million barrels at Coveñas, which serves not only the state producer but also private sector clients such as BP, Parex, Frontera Energy, Trafigura and Hocol.
Cenit is also studying the possibility of using part of its 9,000-kilometre network of oil and multipurpose pipelines to transport other products, Cadena said.
"We are constantly monitoring the situation, including the issue of energy for the transition," he said. "For example, we are evaluating whether our pipelines could transport hydrogen in the future."
Caño Limón-Coveñas - a 773-kilometre pipeline able to transport up to 210,000 barrels of crude oil per day - has been the target of frequent attacks which the military attributes to guerrillas from the National Liberation Army and dissidents from the FARC who broke away from a peace agreement signed in 2016.
Cadena said the pipeline had suffered 26 explosive attacks between January and August. Data from Colombia's Defence Ministry shows there were 32 pipeline bombings nationwide in 2024.
(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra in Covenas, Colombia; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Matthew Lewis)