Forum

By Rodrigo Campos and Luis Jaime Acosta

NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Colombia's state-run energy company Ecopetrol will seek to become a player in clean and renewable energy generation to meet its own demand while also promoting the South American country's energy transition, its chief executive said on Monday.

Ricardo Roa, who has led the $25 billion company for five months, said he sees opportunities for Ecopetrol in some projects that rivals have quit.

"We are seeing a window of opportunity in projects that other important players have been announcing that they will abandon for various reasons, some due to environmental restrictions, some to restrictions with the communities," Roa said, although he did not provide details of how Ecopetrol would overcome the challenges.

He said he sees Ecopetrol becoming a big player in the generation of green hydrogen, green ammonia and methanol, which he estimates could bring between $20 billion and $25 billion in profits through 2040.

Roa, in New York for a presentation to investors, said they appreciated the clarity regarding the projects tied to the energy transition that is a hallmark of President Gustavo Petro's administration.

"Between now and 2030, we must have incorporated nearly 1,900 megawatts in non-conventional renewable energy sources and by 2050 between three and five new gigawatts of renewable energy, that is the goal and aspiration that Ecopetrol has in the energy transition," Roa said.

The company spends some $500 million a year on power supplies, he said, noting the aim was to be self-sufficient through green hydrogen generation and still have enough to export.

In terms of cleaning up the current energy makeup, "the goal is to lower methane emissions by 45% between now and 2025 and some 55% by 2030," he said.

Ecopetrol has made an effort to incorporate natural gas as an element of the green transition by investing in technology in what Roa called an "important local bet."

"We have five or six important (renewable energy) projects that we're looking to participate in," he said, without giving details due to confidentiality agreements.

Ecopetrol's New York-traded shares closed Monday at $12, nearly 40% above the 2023 low hit in May. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos in New York and Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota; Editing by Julia Symmes Cobb and Jamie Freed)