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Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery

Refinery in Ecuador. Approximate location -2.22551, -80.89903.

RefineryEcuadorCO₂ estimate (modelled)

Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery is a refinery in Ecuador. Its listed capacity is 45,000 BBL per day. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery. It is operated by Petroecuador. By capacity it ranks #2 among 3 oil refineries in Ecuador. It emits about 271,293 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 63k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 30% below the national median for this sector.

45,000BBL per day
271,293t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#4CO₂ rank in Ecuador
6.03t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3143869.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityPetroecuador La Libertad Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryEcuador Climate TRACE
Coordinates-2.22551, -80.89903 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity45,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorPetroecuador Climate TRACE
Modelled CO₂e271,293 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

Ecuador rank#4 of 8 · top 50.0% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#489 of 630 · top 77.6% calculated
Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

Fuel typeNot available not in dataset
Thermal capacity (MW)Not available not in dataset

Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.

Similar facilities by modelled emissions

Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.

Operating power plants within 50 km

PowerAtlas operating assets, ordered by great-circle distance from published coordinates.

In context: how this facility compares

At 45,000 BBL per day, Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery is around the median refinery in Ecuador (45,000 BBL per day). Subsector: oil-and-gas-refining. As refinery, it requires high process heat (typically 200–600°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 271,293 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

63kcars driven for a year
35khomes' annual energy use
4.5 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 271k t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery carries no domestic carbon price; refinerys are not a CBAM-covered good, so there is no border-carbon liability. At the EU ETS reference price (€75/t) the emissions carry an indicative carbon value of €20.4M/yr. The fastest decarbonization lever is energy efficiency: eliminating heat loss on hot equipment (removable insulation, steam & waste-heat recovery) typically cuts 2–5% of fuel-related CO₂ — here ≈5k t–14k t/yr, worth €409k€1.0M, with payback up to 2 years. No domestic carbon price — but cement, steel, aluminium, fertilizer and hydrogen exported to the EU face CBAM at €75/t (rising to 100% by 2034).

271k t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€20.4M/yrindicative carbon value (not a CBAM liability)
5k t–14k t/yr ≈ €409k€1.0MDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU CBAM €75/t · EU ETS €79/t, July 2, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: Climate TRACE. Efficiency range: US DOE / ASTM C680 (method). Indicative carbon value, not the cash bill — free allocation applies; not compliance advice. Estimate the saving for this site →

Capacity vs largest oil refineries in Ecuador

Petroecuador Esmeraldas Refinery: 110,000 BBL per day110kPetroecuad…Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery: 45,000 BBL per day45kPetroecuad…Petroecuador Shushufindi Refinery: 20,000 BBL per day20kPetroecuad…

Listed capacity (BBL per day), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Petroecuador. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery sits in a tropical savanna climate zone (Köppen Aw), at 2.2°S in the southern hemisphere.

~26°Ctypical annual mean
~29°Ctypical warm-season
Tropical savanna: hot and humid year-round with little seasonal variation

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
49/100environmental-severity index
2.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
16 kmdistance to coast
Very highCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1248 W/m² to ambient — roughly 0.96× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1186 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #2 largest of 3 oil refineries in Ecuador by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates -2.22551, -80.89903. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a refinery, the main modular-insulation targets are crude & vacuum distillation columns, fired heaters, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–550 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 33,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 6,700 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Screening estimate scaled from installed process-heat projects and surface-temperature reduction data.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

External climate finance your country can access

For energy-efficiency projects around process heat, likely external funding channels include:

Sources: country climate-finance facilities and public development-bank programmes.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery?

Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery is a refinery in Ecuador. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

What capacity is listed for Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery?

The open dataset lists 45,000 BBL per day of capacity for Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery.

How much CO₂ does Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery emit?

The page uses about 271,293 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #4 among facilities in Ecuador by estimated CO₂.

Where is Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery located?

Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery is in Ecuador at approximately -2.22551, -80.89903.

Who operates Petroecuador La Libertad Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is Petroecuador.

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