In late September 2016, the Regional Association of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Sector Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARPEL) held the workshop "Best Practices in Energy Management” in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Professionals from the region met during two days in YPF premises to exchange experiences and best practices in the optimal use of energy, as well as in the application of new technologies in the sector. As a close to the activities, participants conducted a guided visit to La Plata Refinery.

"The oil industry across its entire value chain as well as the generation of electrical energy in Latin America and the Caribbean face the challenge of operating their production units efficiently to ensure the competitiveness of the industry and minimize the environmental impact. For this purpose, it is key to hold this kind of events that promote the exchange of experiences of professionals from different companies," stated Ricardo Buyatti, Downstream Manager of ARPEL.

For his part, the Executive Manager of Refining of YPF, Gabriel Grozna, pointed out that the event "allowed to focus on global trends as regards energy optimization and to analyze the challenges for the future. The optimization of resources, their rational use and impact on the environment, considering that the energy matrix is composed mostly of non-renewable resources, are part of the huge challenges that companies are now facing." In this regard, he added:"Another aspect to take into account are energy costs, as they represent a high percentage in the cost matrix and have a direct impact on the competitiveness of the sector."

Main conclusions of ARPEL Workshop on "Best Practices in Energy Management”:

• Global energy production depends 82 % on fossil fuels.

• Climate change is the concern of a large part of the global society and an unavoidable challenge.

• The combustion of all types of fuels is responsible for 70 % of CO2 emissions.

• Energy efficiency represents 50 % of the opportunity to reduce emissions.

• Both energy producing and consuming companies are becoming aware of the impact of the efficient use of energy, not only because of an economic reason, but also because of the need to reduce the environmental impact of the activity.

• The application of best operational practices, the incorporation of new technologies of control and equipment allow optimizing the use of energy in the chain of large producers and large consumers.

• The society in general considers a right, title and/or interest to have abundant low-cost energy, but does not have a thorough awareness of its role as a responsible consumer.

• The reduction of costs in the production of energy from renewable sources, especially wind and solar, promise a revolution in the energy generation industry.

• The Paris Agreement, which implies a commitment of almost all the nations of the world, tends to increase the generation of clean energy and the optimization of energy use.

• To achieve the objective of ensuring that all inhabitants of the earth have access to energy and reducing emissions, it is necessary that every final consumer makes responsible use of energy.