ARPEL participated in the Hydrogen Congress for Latin America & the Caribbean (H2LAC 2021), which took place on April 14 and 15, and was co-organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

H2LAC brought together regional stakeholders and global industry leaders to address key questions, including: Which role can hydrogen play in the clean energy transition in the region? Can hydrogen help revive Latin America & the Caribbean economies? How do we translate this momentum into policies, programs, and projects?

Irene Alfaro, Downstream Director of ARPEL, was in charge of moderating the panel entitled “A decarbonized and competitive oil and gas industry: Is hydrogen the key?

Yeimy Baez Moreno, Vice President of Gas of Ecopetrol, and Miguel Ángel García Carreño, Process Development Manager of Repsol Venture, attended the session.

In the introduction, Alfaro stated that maintaining the necessary supply of oil and gas implies a sustained volume of investment in the sector that exceeds the capabilities of governments if cleaner energy systems are to be achieved and the expectations of the Sustainable Development Goals are to be met.

Therefore, Alfaro pointed out that public-private partnerships will be required, and ARPEL knows how to reconcile the needs and expectations of state and private companies to work with governments and their main stakeholders to identify the appropriate technology mix and a coherent and sustained public policy framework, in order to meet the future demand with lower greenhouse gas emissions.

“And all of this balanced with increasing energy security and access to energy,” Alfaro concluded.