Ecopetrol to Build Green Hydrogen Plant at Cartagena Refinery

Colombia's majority state-owned energy company Ecopetrol (ECO.CN) plans to build a new green hydrogen plant at its refinery in the Caribbean city of Cartagena for some $28.5 million, it said in a statement on Monday.

The plant will produce 800 tonnes of green hydrogen a year, making it Latin America's biggest, Ecopetrol said in the statement.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has made weaning the Andean country off of fossil fuels a major goal of his administration and Ecopetrol - the country's biggest company - has previously announced plans to take part in an auction for planned offshore wind projects.

"Ecopetrol has entered the modern era of producing clean fuels," the company's chief executive Ricardo Roa said in the statement.

Production of low-emission hydrogen could contribute between $400 million and $485 million on average per year by 2040 to the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Ecopetrol added in the statement.

(Reporting by Oliver Griffin)