13 April 2015

Energy demands create opportunities for investment in the region

  • Despite low international prices, Latin America continues to be a pole of development with opportunities for energy investment.

    During the closing of Conference ARPEL 2015, held April 7-9 in Punta del Este, Uruguay, the main state-owned and international oil companies operating in the region, in addition to regulatory agencies and consulting firms, agreed that the continent has a medium- and long-term horizon in which a growing demand for energy must be met, mainly in the areas of oil, gas and electric power generation. This will imply a challenge estimated at one trillion dollars in investment for the next 20 years.

    This investment volume is in line with the future population growth which will add 130 million people, the need to produce 10 million barrels of oil per day and deal with at least 1,000 new energy projects, as stated by Javier La Rosa, President of Chevron Colombia, on the last day of the regional event that brought together more than 300 senior representatives of the energy sector in Latin America.

    By 2035, the continent demand for oil and natural gas will grow by 40% and 75% respectively. This opens a space for opportunities for investment in key sectors, such as hydrocarbon exploration and production.

    In turn, the national hydrocarbons agencies presented the policies applied in their countries to promote the development of the sector, particularly in the upstream sector. State representatives from Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, Jamaica, Panama and Mexico presented the profound transformations that have been made in legislation to attract investments. The search for clear, stable and lasting relationships in scenarios with high potential, such as the case of Mexico and its recent energy reform, seems to be a point of agreement among the players in the industry.

    One of the highlights of the conference was the presence of Miguel Galuccio, President of the state-owned company YPF Argentina, who focused his participation in the development of the Vaca Muerta unconventional deposit and the implications it may have for his country and the region. Galuccio said that it is a great challenge to manage the third largest area of unconventional hydrocarbons in the continent, and highlighted the relationship with firms such as Chevron, Dow Chemical, and Petronas with which major synergies and investments have been achieved to drill about 300 wells.

    Conference ARPEL 2015 is a biennial event that this time was held in the framework of the 50th anniversary of the Regional Association of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Sector Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean.

    During three days, the main players of the regional energy industry gathered at the Conrad Hotel in Punta del Este to analyze the present of the sector, the risks and challenges in a year marked by the fall in international crude oil prices.

    Under the theme "Cooperation and innovation for a sustainable energy development," the Conference featured seven plenary sessions, seven keynote addresses, eight concurrent technical sessions, in addition to dialogues and speeches given by more than 90 international speakers who addressed the regional and global perspectives of the industry, as well as the development of new technologies, leadership, human rights and the sectoral perspectives within a new global context.

    Raúl Sendic, President-in-Office of Uruguay, José Coya, President of ANCAP, Benito Piñeiro, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ARPEL, and Jorge Ciacciarelli, Executive Secretary of ARPEL, attended the closing ceremony. In his statement to bid farewell to participants, Piñeiro noted "the current state of low crude oil prices implies new challenges and opportunities. Investment in our industry is a medium- and long-term process, which implies that it cannot be stopped by temporary situations."

    In addition, José Coya, President of ANCAP, emphasized that the event was held during a special situation caused by low oil prices. "The most important point is to be close in order to understand each other better," said Coya.

    The President-in-Office of Uruguay, Raúl Sendic, closed the conference and congratulated the Regional Association on its 50th anniversary. He noted that the ARPEL Conference “contributes to strengthening the integration that this continent needs. These have been days of intense work to achieve better days, bearing in mind that there are opportunities to continue to grow, innovate and develop investments in energy."

    Recognition Awards to Companies with Best Performance in Industrial Safety

    At the end of the event, founding companies and member companies were honored during the celebration of 50th anniversary of the foundation of ARPEL, and signed a Statement of Reaffirmation of Commitments within the organization.

    In addition, recognition awards for performance in industrial safety were presented to the following member companies: Equion, Chevron, Ecopetrol and Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ). 

     

    Click the following link to view the video gallery  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaj3cwg7dKK4JYFoyeQRINA

    Click the following link to view the photo gallery http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/iVB3euFr/1/6875040

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