LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR ENERGY ADVISOR A WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF THE DIALOGUE www.thedialogue.org July 10, 2020 BOARD OF ADVISORS FEATURED Q&A TOP NEWS Nigel Blackaby Global Head, OIL & GAS International Arbitration Group, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Has the Pandemic Spanish Court Mary Rose Brusewitz OKs Extradition to Member, Clark Hill Strasburger Derailed Jamaica’s Mexico of Former Jeffrey Davidow Head of Pemex Senior Counselor, The Cohen Group Renewables Goals? A Spanish court approved Mexico’s request to extradite the Jonathan C. Hamilton Partner, former head of state oil company White & Case Pemex, Emilio Lozoya, who stands Ana Heeren accused of corruption. Managing Director, Page 2 FTI Consulting Raul Herrera RENEWABLES Partner, Corporate & Securities Practice, Brazil’s Petrobras Arnold & Porter James R. Jones Begins Sale of Chairman, Biofuels Unit Monarch Global Strategies Brazilian state-run oil company Jorge Kamine Jamaica’s minister of science, energy and technology, Fayval Williams, laid out a series of re- Petrobras has begun the sales Partner, newable energy goals before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the Caribbean. // File Photo: Jamaican Corporate & Financial Services, Government. process of its fully owned biofuels Willkie Farr & Gallagher unit, Petrobras Biocombustivel, Craig A. Kelly Jamaican Minister of Science, Energy and Technology the firm said. Senior Director, Fayval Williams earlier this year said the Caribbean nation Page 3 Americas Int’l Gov’t Relations, Exxon Mobil was poised for an energy revolution that will see Jamaica OIL & GAS Tyler Kruzich Q achieving 100 percent electrification, reaching a 50 percent Director, Int’l Gov’t Affairs for renewable energy mix by 2037 and increasing the contribution of energy Mesa Sworn in as the Western Hemisphere, Chevron to economic growth. Additionally, she said Jamaica was working on New Colombian Jorge León fortifying its power grid in the face of natural disasters and on diver- Energy Minister Energy Economist, BP sifying its energy sources to withstand fuel-price volatility. Williams’ Diego Mesa, who previously served as Colombia’s vice minis- Jeremy Martin comments, in March, came before the worst of the coronavirus outbreak Vice President, Energy & Sustainability, hit the region. What is the current state of Jamaica’s energy sector? ter of energy, was sworn in as the Institute of the Americas Andean nation’s energy minister What are the most significant challenges it is facing? How realistic are Larry Pascal last week. He succeeds María Chairman, the goals that Williams set out, and to what extent has the Covid-19 Fernanda Suárez, who resigned Americas Practice Group, pandemic changed the plan’s assumptions? for “personal and family reasons.” Haynes & Boone Page 2 Charles Shapiro President, Audrey Marks, Jamaica’s ambassador to the United States: World Affairs Council of Atlanta “In its bid to achieve the ‘Vision 2030 Jamaica: National R. Kirk Sherr President, Development Plan,’ the energy sector has long been recog- Clearview Strategy Group nized as a key sector in realizing Jamaica’s economic growth Mark Thurber A Partner, aspirations. Despite the uncertainties and setbacks created by the ongo- Hunton Andrews Kurth ing pandemic, the government of Jamaica continues to press ahead with Jose L. Valera its plans and strategies to revolutionize the energy sector. On the basis of Partner, Mayer Brown LLP the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a 20-year road map for the electricity Lisa Viscidi investment landscape, 32 percent of electricity generation by 2030 is to Program Director, be met with renewables, and 50 percent of electricity generation by 2037. Inter-American Dialogue This includes solar, wind, hydroelectric, waste-to-energy and biomass. A total investment of 2.8 billion Jamaican dollars is anticipated, which will Mesa // File Photo: Colombian Government. Continued on page 3 COPYRIGHT © 2020, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 1 LATIN AMERICA ENERGY ADVISOR July 10, 2020 OIL AND GAS NEWS oping unconventional resources could multiply NEWS BRIEFS Colombia’s dwindling reserves of both oil and Mesa Takes Over as gas by four, Mesa added. Brazil Connects 139 MW of Wind Farms in June: Colombia’s Mines Spanish Court Agrees Power Sector Regulator and Energy Minister to Extradition of Brazilian power sector regulator Aneel has an- nounced that the country approved 139 mega- Diego Mesa was sworn in on July 2 as Colom- Former Pemex Chief watts (MW) of wind farms to begin operation bia’s new mines and energy minister, following last month, Renewables Now reported Monday. the resignation of María Fernanda Suárez for Spain’s National Administrative Tribunal on In total, the country added 141.47 megawatts “personal and family” reasons, S&P Global Monday agreed to the extradite Emilio Lozoya, of new capacity last month, with wind farms Platts reported. Mesa had previously served a former chief executive of Mexican state oil contributing 98.4 percent of that amount. The as the country’s vice minister of energy. “He company Pemex, who stands accused of cor- total capacity is three times larger than what had been accompanying Minister Suárez in the ruption, the court said in a statement, Reuters Aneel had initially expected for the month, at issue of the energy transition, so that Colom- reported. Lozoya, 45, is wanted in Mexico 54.84 MW. The new additions generate com- bia consolidates itself as a leader in foreign on charges that include bribery and money bined electricity equivalent to powering a city direct investment, an important issue for our laundering of $280 million in connection with of 3.6 million inhabitants, Aneel said. Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht and a Mexican fertilizer company, El Universal report- Mesa succeeds María ed. Lozoya, who has denied any wrongdoing, Power Outages Reported Fernanda Suárez, who was arrested in the Spanish city of Málaga in resigned for “personal and February, months after fleeing Mexico. He was in Parts of Venezuela family” reasons. the head of Pemex from 2012 and 2016 and is Erratic power outages were reported in Venezu- known to be a close ally of former President ela’s capital and several other states on Mon- Enrique Peña Nieto, an association that has day evening, with the country’s state electrical country’s public finances,” President Iván raised questions regarding the extent to which company, Corpoelec, saying on Twitter that “an Duque said in announcing Mesa’s appointment, other high-level officials knew of Lozoya’s event in the electrical system” had hit power Dinero reported. “Today, I assume a great alleged actions. Lozoya had already agreed to in parts of Caracas and states to the west, responsibility as the [minister of mines and be extradited to Mexico, the country’s attorney the Associated Press reported. Corpoelec did energy],” Mesa wrote on Twitter following his general, Alejandro Gertz, said last week. not provide further details. On social media, swearing-in ceremony, expressing enthusiasm [Editor’s note: See related Q&A on corruption Venezuelans said lights had flickered on and for a “sustainable reactivation” of the economy in Mexico’s energy sector in the June 7, 2019 off repeatedly, while other areas were still led by the mining and energy sectors. Before issue of the Energy Advisor.] experiencing blackouts on Monday evening. assuming his role as vice minister of energy at Corpoelec later said power had been restored the start of Duque’s presidency in 2018, Mesa in 90 percent of Caracas. had worked as an economist specializing in Venezuela Starts July energy at the International Monetary Fund and With Lowest Crude as head of the Bogotá office of accounting firm Fuel Tanker Explosion in PriceWaterhouseCoopers, S&P Global Platts Production in Years reported. As minister, Mesa will face important Colombia Kills Eleven, challenges in the context of lower international Venezuela began July with crude production of Injures Dozens More crude prices and plunging demand for oil due about 300,000 barrels per day and no oil rigs At least 11 people were killed, and more than to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as ongoing in operation, Argus Media reported last Friday, 40 others were injured, after an overturned fuel debates in Colombia over the use of hydraulic citing a series of internal operation reports tanker exploded in the town of Pueblo Viejo fracturing, or fracking, according to the report. from state oil company PDVSA. It is the lowest on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, local police The development of unconventional resources production level Venezuela has had in nearly said, Vanguardia reported Wednesday. Crowds could be “a game changer for the Colombian nine decades, without taking into account a had gathered around the tilted vehicle to try oil and gas sector,” Mesa said in an event held two-month oil strike from December 2002 to to siphon off fuel when the tanker burst into last year at the Inter-American Dialogue, in January 2003. In July of last year, the Andean flames. Officials fear the death toll will rise, as which he participated as vice minister. Devel- nation produced about 780,000 barrels per some victims are treated for severe burns. COPYRIGHT © 2020, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 2 LATIN AMERICA ENERGY ADVISOR July 10, 2020 day (bpd), according to estimates by Argus. FEATURED Q&A / Continued from page 1 According to the PDVSA documents, the main reason why production has decreased across serve to continue to modernize electricity Minister Williams’ comments on the need the company’s joint ventures in the Orinoco infrastructure, diversify fuel sources and for renewables to strengthen the Jamaican heavy oil belt and its mature eastern and institutionalize energy conservation and economy, where nearly 10 percent of GDP western divisions is a lack of storage capacity, efficiency. Prime Minister Andrew Holness (around $1.3 billion annually) is spent on which in turn reflects the company’s struggle has long advocated for Jamaica to be a fuel imports.