Dear energy community;
Through this medium, which has become our information link and especially the link to strengthen our relationship, it is a pleasure for me to inform you about the latest activities that we have carried out from OLADE, especially the most relevant actions that contribute to progress of our organization.
This is how I want to start this space, presenting you with one of the most important milestones that we have reached as an organization and I am very pleased to share it with you. I am referring to the final donation of the OLADE headquarters building by the Ecuadorian Government, a property where we have operated for 33 years in the host country Ecuador. In this way, the Organization has the possibility of offering a broader service in terms of interaction with the community, initiatives that we will implement in the course of our management, fulfilling a role around the society that we are immersed in.
Among the outstanding activities of this month, we had the opportunity to hold a discussion in the framework of the Oil and Gas Conference organized by ARPEL in Uruguay, where the Ministers and senior officials of the countries called attended. Activity that generated an open communication space to inform them about my strategic plan and the actions carried out during the first 4 months of management in the Organization.
At the World Bank, we are accelerating the pace of project execution: “IMPROVING THE CAPACITY OF ENERGY STATISTICS IN THE CARIBBEAN,” which aims to strengthen energy statistics and planning capacity in five Caribbean countries: Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Suriname and exchange experiences with the personnel of these countries.
In addition to the process of the efforts in which we are working, it is also a pleasure to inform you about the signed agreements that we have concluded. We have formalized an agreement with EUEI PDF through GIZ to determine through a prospective model of the energy sector in Latin America and the Caribbean, the potential for sustainable energy development that contributes to reducing the causes and effects of climate change.
Finally, I want to end my intervention with a segment that reflects our purpose and commitment in our management, in terms of strengthening ties with the academic sector in the region, and we began to do so through contests for technical articles in the areas of hydrocarbons and energy integration. Usually there is talk of energy integration in physical terms, but the integration of our nations from the exchange of knowledge and acquired experience is as or more relevant than physical integration, with the human being as its focus.
Two articles were awarded, one referring to energy efficiency in the hydrocarbon sector, organized in coordination with ARPEL, and the other dealing with the issue of energy integration with renewable energy, with the support of WWF. These works will be disseminated through our knowledge platform and our journal. Once again I reiterate my congratulations for the great work done by the contestants and above all highlight the great contribution that these works represent for the dissemination of knowledge in Latin America and the Caribbean.
As always, I thank you for your comments and proposals to my personal email address secretaria.ejecutiva@olade.org.
I bid you farewell fraternally.
Alfonso Blanco
OLADE’s Executive Secretary
