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Actions
Towards Water Neutrality
Actions
Towards Water Neutrality
Jan 1, 2024
Water is a vital resource for the development of Ecopetrol's operations, as well as for the communities that are in the areas where it carries out its operations. Based on this, was established the Water Neutrality Roadmap by 2045, this means reduce the water footprint as much as technically and economically feasible and compensate for at least 100% of the remaining consumption, achieving a positive impact in each watershed where withdrawals and/or discharges are made.
In the world, the goals associated with water management are framed in the Sustainable Development Goal 6, which seeks to guarantee universal access to drinking, safe and affordable water for all by 2030, and therefore, the comprehensive water management in Ecopetrol must contribute to the equitable, economic and environmental sustainable provision of water resources, articulated with Ecopetrol's Corporate Strategy, the SosTECnibilidad agenda, the water neutrality roadmap, and the strategic pillars of action for the climate, biodiversity and circular economy.
Objectives
- Improve efficiency in the use of water to reduce operating costs and enable production and reserves.
- Contribute to the transformation of conflicts associated with water and water security.
- Reduce the water footprint to achieve water neutrality, allowing to manage physical, regulatory and reputation risks at every basin where each operation or project is developed, to increase the resilience of operations in territories that progressively are increasing social expectations and policies for the generation of value in the environment and society.
Strategic lines
Operational efficiency in water management
This strategic line seeks to balance the consumption of water in operations with the supply of safe water for the ecosystem, with the aim of reaching water neutrality.
The comprehensive management of water in businesses generates value through the qualification of production and reserves, and guarantees the availability and continuity of the current and future supply of water for projects and operations, contributing to the sustainability of the water resource, through the following items:
- Reduction of the required water to operate a) Optimization of volumes of water injected for oil recovery; b) Loss and leakage control; c) Water saving devices; and d) Processes optimization
- Maximizing reuse: a) Use of produced water for oil recovery and industrial uses; b) Water transfers between fields, and c) Renewable energies (e.g., green hydrogen)
- Clean water for the ecosystem: a) Gradual reduction in the load of pollutants; b) Zero discharges to freshwater bodies; c) Water reuse in other sectors, industrial symbiosis, and d) Water safeguards
- Use of alternative sources: a) Industrial wastewater; b) Domestic wastewater; c) Deep aquifers; and d) Sea water
- Estimation of the water footprint
- Promotion of environmental performance in the chain of goods and services
- Management of physical, regulatory, legal and reputation risks associated to water
- Water safeguards, excellence in water protection to avoid potential damage due to operational risks.
Knowledge and technology integration
This line focuses on the development and transfer of technologies with the support of the Innovation and Technology Center - ICP, which allow:
- Optimize the oil/water ratio: Mechanical and chemical separation of water on wells bottom.
- Improve the treatment for the valuation of water as an asset: a) Polishing and desalination of water at low cost; b) Enrichment of water for agricultural use; c) Bioenergy production; and d) Real-time monitoring (volume and quality)
- Water supply in areas with water deficit: Generation of knowledge of deep aquifers
- Platform or technological solution that incorporates analytical and artificial intelligence capabilities for water management.
- Quantify the return on investments in sustainability, making the positive financial impact explicit and generating competitive advantage
Sustainability and water security in the environment
Operational efficiency in water management is not enough, it is necessary to propose, plan and implement interventions to achieve sustainability of natural capital and its ecosystem services, therefore, this line focuses on:
- Promote actions to recover and conserve the natural capital that protects the water supply sources, its regulation and seasonal and spatial availability, contributing to equity in access to water and transforming socio-environmental conflicts.
- Improve the adaptive capacity of the areas where operations and projects are carried out, through approaches such as adaptation to climate change and the application of nature-based solutions (including natural climate solutions).
- Articulate and strengthen the interventions of the different public and private actors present in the territory to reduce the gap in access to drinking water and wastewater treatment in areas of influence of the projects and operations.
This line will be developed through:
- Management of natural capital for the regulation and availability of water resources: Certification of water security benefits of mandatory and strategic environmental investments (includes natural climate solutions and nature-based solutions)
- Equity in access to water and basic sanitation (in conjunction with the Territorial Development roadmap - Environment Strategy)
- Nature-based solutions / Natural climate solutions (in conjunction with the strategic pillars of action for climate and Biodiversity)
- Water planning and governance: a) Collective action for the management of water security; and b) Participation in the creation of policies, standards, guidelines, and other instruments aimed at the integral management of water.
Goals and targets (short, medium, and long term)
Each year, through the three-year business plan, short-term goals are defined aiming to progress towards the achievement of long-term goals. In this regard, for 2024, the goals are as follows.
- Freshwater withdrawal limit: 728 KBWPD, a 11% reduction compared to the baseline*.
- Reuse of produced water: 29.4%
- Reuse of industrial waters: 43.1%
- Reuse of produced water in agricultural activities: 60,1 KBWPD.
In the long-term, the commitment to neutral water includes the following goals by 2045:
- Reduce by 66% the withdrawal of fresh water for industrial use, with respect to the baseline (year 2019) **.
- Zero industrial discharges to surface freshwater bodies.
- Offsetting the remaining freshwater withdrawal (34%), through compensation projects in the same basins from which the water is extracted.
*The goals include the commitments of the Upstream and Downstream Vice Presidencies as well as the incorporation of the assets of the Tren Nare, operated by Ecopetrol since November 2021. **In case of receiving new assets, their water management volumes will be included in the baseline to maintain comparability.
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