At the beginning of June, ARPEL participated in the first edition of the “Suriname Energy, Oil & Gas Summit”, organized by Staatsolie, a partner company since the 90’s, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Suriname.

The virtual event featured 68 speakers and an audience of more than 600 participants from all over the world, and its main purpose was to inform about Suriname’s investment opportunities driven by the recent discoveries of hydrocarbon resources and developments in the country, raising Suriname as a potential global leader in the oil industry.

Miguel Moyano, Acting Executive Secretary, represented the Association for the panel entitled “Suriname - A Country of Choice for New Exploration and Production Development.”

The session was also attended by Wafik Beydoun, Director for the Americas at the IOGP (International Association of Oil & Gas Producers); Rekha Bissumbhar, Director of Onshore Upstream at Staatsolie and ARPEL Board member; Tor Fjaeran, President of the WPC (World Petroleum Council), and Roy Shyamnarain, Tax Lawyer and Managing Director of Shyamnarain Associates. Mr. Ricardo Bedregal, Executive Director at IHS-Markit, acted as moderator.

The session focused on the opportunities for Suriname to become a strategic partner in new exploration and production projects, how Staatsolie can create sustainable partnerships with international E&P companies to ensure that the country reaches its full potential and prosperity, and what international expertise can bring to this challenge.

In this regard, Moyano said that ARPEL’s main goal is to support the sustainable development of hydrocarbon resources in the countries of the Region. “This is particularly relevant considering that oil and gas contribute to 70% of the energy needs in our region and generate four million direct, indirect and induced jobs,” he said.

Meanwhile, he pointed out that the Association is a reliable partner of the countries and since its foundation in 1965, it has been promoting the work of the sector together with governments. Moyano pointed out that it is no coincidence that the sector’s regulations contain many references to documents developed by ARPEL in more than 15 countries in the Region.

Since Staatsolie’s incorporation as an ARPEL partner in 1994, it has been a proactive member company, openly sharing its knowledge and contributing to the collaborative work developed through the Association.

Moyano cited as an example that Suriname’s National Oil Spill Contingency Plan is based almost 100% on the guidelines developed by ARPEL with two other regional intergovernmental institutions. He stressed that, considering the expected increase in offshore activities in Suriname, spill prevention and response will be a relevant issue in the context of the sustainable development of the sector, and therefore Suriname government’s and ARPEL’s goals are both aligned.

“In a joint effort between government and industry, ARPEL has been able to encourage countries to accelerate their learning curves to develop the sector in several Latin American countries, through inter-country cooperation activities or government regulations based on regional and international best practices. We intend to continue doing so as we have been doing for 56 years, in this case supporting Suriname,” concluded Moyano.