Caño Limon Covenas Oil Pipeline Achieves 30 Year Operational Milestone

Ecopetrol’s Oleoducto (Pipeline) Caño Limón Coveñas has reached 30 years of operation, reported Ecopetrol this month. Over that time, the pipeline has transported 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil, contributing $148 billion pesos to the economies of the surrounding areas. Such returns for the communities include rural electrification, new roads, educational facilities, and job generation, such as in the areas of natural gas distribution.

The pipeline, operated by Ecopetrol’s Cenit subsidiary, is 774 kilometers long, passing through 33 municipalities in the Colombian departments of Arauca, Boyacá, Norte de Santander, Cesar, Magdalena, Sucre, and Bolivar. The pipeline starts in Vereda La Ossa, Arauca, and ends in Puerto Coveñas, in Sucre.

Caño Limon Covenas Pipeline Repumping  Stations

1. Banadia – Saravena, Arauca
2. Toledo – Toledo, Norte de Santander
3. Samoré – Norte de Santander
4. Orú – El Tarra, Norte de Santander (pictured, above)
5. Ayacucho – La Gloria, Cesar

Approximately 2,000 individuals worked to build the pipeline three decades ago. It has a daily capacity of 200,000 barrels, and was the first in Colombia to obtain ISO 9001 status from Icontec for its maintenance policies and procedures. Over its lifetime, the pipeline has survived over 1,293 criminal attempts, from rebel sabotage to oil theft attempts.