From September 28 to October 2, the second edition of the conference “The Madrid Energy” took place, organized by the Institute of the Americas and IPD Latin America.

Irene Alfaro, Director of Dowstream at ARPEL, represented the Association in the panel “Reduction and mitigation of emissions: carbon capture and storage, and methane and CO2 technologies”, in which Andrea Course from Shell also participated; Nicholas Lawson from BP, and Chris Sladen from Reconnoitre Ltd. The moderator was Carlos de Regules from Deloitte S-LATAM.

"Moving towards a low-carbon economy is an indisputable need today, and represents a great challenge for humanity as a whole and, in particular, for the oil and gas industry in the region," said Alfaro, who added that the energy matrix of Latin America and the Caribbean is comparatively less intense in greenhouse gas emissions, since on the one hand, it has a high component of hydroelectric energy, and on the other, a low relative weight of coal in electricity generation.

Alfaro highlighted that renewable energies represent between 24 and 27% of the energy supply, one of the highest proportions in the world.

However, she said that “despite this, oil and gas continue to be the main source of energy in the region (in 2018 they represented 70% according to BP). Their relevance in national exports, capital investments, tax collection, contributions to GDP and employment, give them a leading role in the economy of the countries of the region and in their sustainable development ”.

She stressed that the strategic objectives of the Association are aimed today at “generating a common understanding about energy transitions between our companies; identify the opportunities and associated risks, provide support to our members in their adaptation to the new business scenario, and strengthen our position in the most relevant discussion forums, such as the one that brings us together today ”.

Alfaro made reference to the ARPEL White Paper "Energy Transitions in Latin America and the Caribbean", which summarizes the commitments assumed by the Association and its member companies, as well as the main opportunities that this issue represents for the sector. https://arpel.org/library/publication/519/

Finally, he stressed that "one of the most important factors to promote Energy Transitions is to have a coherent and sustained public policy framework", and that "from ARPEL we are willing to work with key actors to develop and implement Energy Transitions processes sustainable in the countries of the region ”.