Oil and Gas


In the late 1920s, oil traces were discovered in Suriname's Nickerie district, sparking curiosity but little action. It wasn’t until the 1970s oil crisis that the country's oil potential gained global attention. When multinational exploration efforts failed to yield significant results, Suriname made a bold decision: to take control of its destiny. In 1980, Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V. was established to lead the country's oil industry with a motto that remains at the heart of its operations—“Confidence in our own abilities.”


 

Heritage Petroleum is the future of Trinidad and Tobago—a bold statement but one that the country's Prime Minister Keith Rowley would entirely agree with. The state-owned oil and gas company is quickly fixing the problems of old while forging new and exciting exploration projects to help propel T&T forward.

While the Caribbean country's principal oil producer has brought on stream a new oil well at the Soldado East Field, its socio-economic commitments to local communities and protecting the environment are an integral part of its strategic plans.
 


Uganda’s Lake Albert region has become a major focal point for the East African country’s ambition to tap into its considerable oil and gas reserves and a desire by stakeholders, communities and environmental groups for the unspoilt beauty to be carefully protected and preserved for future generations.


Logistics leader Threeways Shipping Services has successfully navigated the stormy waters of recent years and is now stepping up its game, including playing a pivotal role in TotalEnergies' Tilenga project in Uganda. Written by Andy Probert.
 
Threeways Shipping Services is once again one of Uganda's cutting–edge intra-field logistics specialists. Focused on keeping the wheels of the developing nation's economy turning, it is currently gaining major traction on oil and gas projects, where it has become the first local Tier 1 provider to global clients, such as TotalEnergies.


As a country without any mineral wealth, Jamaica has always had to box clever when it came to its oil and gas requirements. The fact that it has been able to do so has in large part been due to the tireless work conducted by Petrojam Limited, Jamaica’s only oil refinery. The pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the consequent spike in fuel prices was just the latest time that Petrojam has had to go the extra mile to ensure Jamaica’s energy security.


Given the enormous mineral resources in the MENA region with countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, it may surprise some to learn that the first major hydrocarbon producer in the region was Egypt. The country’s oil production goes as far back as the second half of the 19th century, at a time when it was both energy self-sufficient and an exporter of hydrocarbons. Even today, oil and gas production is the single largest economic activity in the country.


Liquified natural gas (LNG) has been universally recognized as a stepping stone in the energy transition. Thanks to its 25 percent lower carbon emissions than traditional fuels, LNG finds are now usually treated with more fanfare than the discovery of oil wells. It is wholly understandable in this context then, the enthusiasm that surrounds the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) LNG project off the coast of Senegal and Mauritania.


The 21st century has been a time of growing prosperity for Ghana and its citizens. Although the country’s GDP remained largely stagnant for the 50 years to the beginning of the century - growing just 13% between 1955 and 2000 - its growth since then has been phenomenal. In 2021, the country’s GDP was measured at over $72 billion - nearly 15 times higher than in 2000, when the same figure stood at a little less than $5 billion.


Botswana has justifiably won praise over the past two decades as home to one of the world’s longest-running economic booms. Although the Covid-19 pandemic curtailed that growth for a short period, the government’s 2021 accounts are set to show a strong rebound, with GDP growth of approximately 7% being forecast.

 

Botswana Oil, the state energy company, has played a pivotal role in this growth story.


 

The importance of natural gas to Germany’s energy transition cannot be overstated. In 2010, the country passed Energiewende, its long-term energy strategy to install as much wind and solar energy as possible, as quickly as possible. To deliver on this ambitious goal, Germany needs natural gas - now recognized as the backup fuel for intermittent wind and solar power.