Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, are the countries concentrating interesting projections in the hydrocarbon industry despite the crisis and the demand for a greater energy transition…
ISSUE 113 | 2022
Vesna Marinkovic U.
Investment, exploration, production and autonomy were the key points positioned by the executives of oil & gas companies from Latin America and the Caribbean at ARPEL 2022, highlighting that the region is a key player in the field of hydrocarbons in order to secure a safe and sustainable demand for energy.
ARPEL’s Executive Secretary Mr. Carlos Garibaldi, was in charge of moderating panel 3, which included the participation of Mark Loquan, CEO of The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC); Arlene Chow, CEO of Heritage Petroleum of Guyana; and Annand Jagesar, Director General of Suriname Staatsolie. These executives worked together forecasting the industry ‘s trends during the current transition process.
The panel visualized with great confidence that the hydrocarbon-producing countries in the region, especially Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname, have the opportunity to continue advancing in decarbonization, but without putting at risk a reliable energy supply, highlighting the necessity of considering a variety of alternatives for energy transition, taking into account the reality of each country in the region.
THE COAST OF SURINAME
Annand Jagesar said that based on the significant number of oil and gas discoveries and a successful evaluation of the coast of Suriname in recent years, the country is emerging as the center of the oil & gas activities in the region, which attracts interested parties from all over the world.
In this context, he said that Suriname should be seen as a global player in the oil & gas industry, thus turning the country into an “attractive investment destination” and at the same time, as a country open for business. “In addition, we will promote offshore and onshore exploration projects, which have a great hydrocarbon potential,” he said.
Regarding to Staatsolie’s role as part of the energy transition efforts of the company in Suriname, he said that although the whole world is attentive to the consequences of climate change, a product of greenhouse gasses, Suriname is currently one of the only 3 countries with negative emissions of carbon on the planet, removing more carbon dioxide than is emitted.
At the moment, Staatsolie has a diversified portfolio that includes a hydroelectric power station that generates an average of 105 MW of electricity. Last year it provided more than 70% of Suriname’s electricity demand. The company is also looking at potential opportunities to increase its hydroelectric capacity and start a commercial-scale solar project.
Finally, he said that a substantial volume of offshore gas has been discovered and the development of these fields, sets Staatsolie and Suriname in a strong position regarding the development of a sustainable energy transition strategy.
“We are very excited about the prospects of releasing more acreage offshore. Suriname currently has more than 60% of its offshore surface area without a license. So, based on the successful discoveries in Blocks 58 and 52, a substantial work has been done across the specific offshore area at a regional level to collect data, highlighting that all the elements required for a successful petroleum system in operation are present in the area that is currently without a license”, he affirmed, adding that they are currently conducting further research efforts to strengthen the optimistic hydrocarbon potential of his country.
THE GUYANA DILEMMA
Arlene Chow, CEO of Heritage Petroleum of Guyana was very energetic, highlighting that “no one should tell anyone what we have to do for the sake of the environment. We have our own reality.” She recognized that as a planet we face a serious problem regarding climate change. However, she urged the developed world to lead this transition.
She said that although until some time ago Hermitage Petroleum was part of the oil & gas companies that felt alone thinking about the energy transition, “a lot has changed and we are evolving.” She noted that 82% of the world’s energy comes from fossil fuels and yet the region is the one that contributes the least to global warming. “
She was categorical in stating that if Guyana, a small English-speaking country located on the northeastern ledges of the South American subcontinent, stops producing fossil fuels, it will have a negative impact to her country’s economy, underlining that it is vital to continue investing, exploring and producing hydrocarbons.
Along these lines, she recalled that her country is one of the best positioned in terms of fossil fuel projections, ratifying its importance in light of the growing global demand despite the fact that up to now, the years of extraction of natural resources in Guyana have not achieved the sustainable development objectives of the country.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Mark Loquan, CEO of NGC said that at the moment “addressing environmental concerns is a question of how we position ourselves to the future” and he acknowledged that the most important companies in the sector have already announced carbon neutral strategies to be achieved before 2050, and that T&T has taken significant steps in that direction to help meet national commitments under the Paris Agreement and begin working on climate-related projects.
…82% of the world’s energy comes from fossil fuels and yet the region is the one that contributes the least to global warming”
He assured that the efforts on the supply side include the reduction of emissions through energy efficiency and clean energy technologies, adding that to mitigate the effects of climate change, the installation and use of renewable energies and more efficient technologies and infrastructures in power consumption are also crucial. “It is very important to increase the proportion of renewable generation in the country’s energy mix from 15% to more than 60% in the coming decades,” he said.
Furthermore, He said that the pandemic has accelerated the consolidation of the oil & gas sector, with reductions in exploration CAPEX and a deeper focus on making investments that are relevant for the future, which in his opinion would have prompted a better cash flow management, and that despite the difficulties in assembling the necessary labor force, there were no significant delays in the execution of projects. Currently, in terms of petrochemicals, Trinidad and Tobago continues to be a major supplier of ammonia and methanol to the US, despite the fact that before the pandemic, the shale revolution in North America had generated a downward trajectory of petrochemical products imported from this country, considered the largest oil and gas producer in the Caribbean.
KEY PLAYER
In this line, the Executive Secretary of ARPEL, Carlos Garibaldi, said that “The advances, results and future plans of the oil and gas industry in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Guyana and Suriname, position Latin America as a potential key actor in a global energy transformation characterized by its mitigation efforts against climate change and the need to satisfy the growing demand for accessible, safe and sustainable energy.”
On the other hand, the President of ARPEL, Alejandro Stipanicic remarked that “each region has a different consumption base, different capacities and potential, which implies that there is more than one transition. Therefore, ARPEL will have as a priority promoting the recovery of the social license of the sector, which will imply communicating serious, sensible and independent information to generate a conversation about balanced energy.”
“ARPEL has that moral responsibility to lead that conversation. That is our commitment from today”, he expressed. At the closing of this event, it was announced that the seventh edition of ARPEL’s Conference will take place in April 2024 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
