Ecopetrol plans for pilot geothermal power plant in Meta, Colombia
The planned 250-kW geothermal pilot power plant of EcoPetrol in the Apiay oil field in Meta, Colombia will harness geothermal heat from existing oil wells.
Colombian petroleum company Ecopetrol has announced plans of putting up a 250 kW geothermal power plant in the Apiay oil complex in Meta, Colombia. The power plant will harness geothermal heat from existing oil wells from which oil and water at 100 degrees Celsius are co-produced. The target is for the pilot plant to be ready by June 2023.
Ecopetrol Llanos Management vice-president Edgar Partenina Blanco explained that the production well draws fluid from a depth of 3.5 kilometers. Heat from the geothermal fluid will be used to vaporize a secondary gas, indicating that a binary power plant is planned for the development.
The region of Meta had already been previously identified as one of three potential sites for geothermal pilot projects. All three sites have the potential of generating power from hot water derived from oil drilling. One such site already exists in Colombia – the 100-kW geothermal power generation unit in the Las Maracas field in Casanare which started operating in March 2021.
The development of a geothermal pilot plant is part of Ecopetrol’s wider strategy of establishing 1000 kW of renewable energy capacity in the coming years, including solar and hydropower.
Source: Noticiero del Llano