02 August 2021

TECPETROL, ENAUTA AND ARPEL AT BNAMERICAS WEBINAR ON THE RESULTS OF THE 2021 OIL & GAS SURVEY

  • On July 29, BNamericas held the webinar “Results of the 2021 Oil & Gas Survey: Investment Perspectives for Latin America.”

    The panel was formed by Ricardo Ferreiro, Senior Manager of Tecpetrol Business Development, Gas & Power and Commercial Departments; Décio Oddone, Enauta Director and CEO; and Miguel Moyano, Acting Executive Secretary from ARPEL.

    The event was moderated by Michael Place, BNamericas Energy Editor.

    The webinar disclosed the main findings of the 2021 Survey for the hydrocarbon sector in the Region. Next, the guests discussed some key industry topics such as the costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy transition, the main investment areas for the next 12 months, etc.

    Among the results of the survey, we should highlight that political uncertainty will continue to be the strongest threat for Latin America’s hydrocarbon sector during the next 12 months; however, Brazil offers the best investment scenario for short-term exploration and production.

    Other threats identified by the surveyed executives in the sector are as follows: resource nationalism (24%), future pandemic waves (13%), weakened prices (8%), lack of funding (8%), community-related risks (5%), regulatory or permit barriers (3%), and increased costs (2%).

    “The Coronavirus pandemic will accelerate the change toward shorter hydrocarbon price cycles, posing new challenges to exploratory planning,” said Oddone, current CEO of the independent oil company Enauta and former Managing Director of Brazil’s National Oil Agency (ANP).

    “The revolution of shale hydrocarbons has changed these dynamics, and we have begun to have shorter cycles. I believe the COVID-19 will boost this effect,” he remarked.

    Although ranked fourth among 11 countries or subregions, Argentina ―a power in shale hydrocarbons― has experienced the steepest rise, with 7% of respondents considering that the country has the best investment scenario, as opposed to last year’s 2%.

    “We have the shale, and Argentina has been able to respond faster to the demand, given the macroeconomic situation and the local conditions required to carry out the development,” explained Ferrero. He added that “there are more risks and challenges, but we also have more tools to respond in due time under proper conditions.”

    Meanwhile, he remarked that the transition to a cleaner global energy matrix has accelerated.

    In this regard, Moyano said that an approach mainly focused on environmental, social and governance principles has matched the rise of emerging segments, such as carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS).

    “The fact that several international companies have embraced voluntary reduction agreements shows that they are already considering not seeking for new exploration areas,” explained Moyano, who then added: “They are focusing on their current production portfolios, particularly in extractive low-cost assets, and using cashflow to invest in renewable projects.”

    “ARPEL and its member companies support CCUS implementation, although there is still work to do in the regional regulatory area to ensure a sufficiently fast technology massification and, of course, achieve social acceptance,” he asserted.

    Finally, regarding the Latin American countries that appear to be most attractive to investors, Moyano said that like Colombia, Brazil, Guyana and Suriname, there are other countries that are highly attractive, though they have issues to solve and improve.

    He remarked that in order to achieve this, a good communication between governments and the industry is critical. “Therefore, ARPEL has performed and continues to perform as the sole regional cooperation forum between the industry and governments to support the development of this sector in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

    Link to watch the webinar in full: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkeR39LuVrE

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