Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 14 2021
P. 6
LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil
We believe the country’s leaders must also: neighboring nations. Trinidad and Tobago has
Establish gender diversity policies for also been a major exporter of LNG from off-
extractive industries. I think we can all agree that shore areas. But when output began declining,
there is a serious lack of women working in oil the country sought a new supply source for its
and gas at all levels, but particularly in leadership LNG plants, which it found offshore Venezuela.
roles, and the dearth is detrimental to compa- A 2007 agreement between the two nations
nies as well as the countries where they operate. allows for cross-border reservoir exploitation.
But the government of Suriname doesn’t have
to submit to the same old standard. The country Apply lessons learned
can require that companies working within their Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Keith
borders hire women, compensate them fairly, Rowley recently said the Caribbean was “being
use women-owned suppliers and subcontrac- heralded as the next major oil and gas province,”
tors, provide adequate family leave protections, and the discoveries in Guyana and Suriname
and create education and training for girls and further bolster his claim.
women, including STEM. But to take full advantage of the economic
Ensure strong governance. National oil opportunities they present, Suriname’s govern-
company Staatsolie should follow Guyana’s ment, citizens, civil societ and business commu-
lead and create an oil and gas industry regula- nity need to apply lessons learned from other
tor, removing itself from any oversight role. In areas and to consider the expertise of those who
addition, Suriname must refuse to allow corrup- have helped those nations reach their potential.
tion and authoritarianism to continue within Only then can Suriname’s people be assured that
its borders. This is hardly an isolated issue. As the celebration around new oil includes them as
described in Ayuk’s book, during the 2000- well. (African Energy Chamber)
2011 period, high oil and gas prices sent Africa’s
economic growth to new levels. Yet most of the Suriname-born goodwill ambassador Clarence
money never made it to the people. Instead, it Seedorf is one of the greatest football players in
was siphoned off by political elites through shell history and the only one to win the Champions
companies. The world is watching how Suri- League with three different clubs. In addition
name will manage its oil revenues, especially to his distinguished career as a midfielder, See-
as it rebounds from the economic slump of dorf coached on four continents. His mission to
2017-2018. make the world a better place was recognized
Promote industrialisation. Suriname by Nelson Mandela, who named him a Legacy
can take a page from Trinidad and Tobago’s Champion in 2009. This select group of phi-
playbook. The latter country’s robust natural lanthropists is helping to ensure that Mandela’s
gas industry and monetisation strategies have legacy lives on. Seedorf holds an Honoris Causa
enabled the development of a strong man- degree in humanities, has earned the highest
ufacturing sector, including the Point Lisas civil decorations from the Netherlands and
Industrial Estate. For decades, Trinidad’s ample Suriname and has served as both a UEFA Global
natural gas reserves were considered nothing Ambassador for Diversity and Change and juror
more than a cheap way to keep its oil produc- for the FIFA Diversity Award. He is a business
tion, refining, and power generation facilities consultant and public speaker.
going. With Point Lisas, Trinidad is attracting
natural gas users that consume large amounts NJ Ayuk is executive chairman of the African
for both export and downstream industries. In Energy Chamber, CEO of the pan-African cor-
Suriname’s case, oil can be used as feedstock for porate law conglomerate Centurion Law Group
petrochemicals, creating jobs and injecting cash and the author of several books about the oil and
into the national economy. gas industry in Africa, including Billions at Play:
Form strategic partnerships with The Future of African Energy and Doing Deals.
MEXICO
KKR to buy 20% stake in Sempra unit
US-BASED Sempra Energy said this week that Partners in order to fund growth and “highlight
it had agreed to sell a 20% interest in its Sempra the underlying value of the platform.”
Infrastructure Partners unit to global invest- Sempra combined its Sempra LNG business
ment firm KKR for $3.37bn in cash. and its Mexican subsidiary, IEnova, into the new
The deal comes four months after Sempra infrastructure unit. The unit’s assets include the
announced that it would form the energy infra- operational Cameron LNG export terminal on
structure unit in an effort to simplify its business. the US Gulf Coast, as well as the Energía Costa
The company said at the time that it would sell a Azul LNG project, which is currently under
non-controlling stake in Sempra Infrastructure construction on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 14 08•April•2021
