In response to the needs of the oil and gas industry, the Regional Association of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Sector Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARPEL) organized a new edition of the course on "Evaluation of Programs to Address Oil Spills" using ARPEL Manual and RETOS™.

The training was conducted in Bogota, Colombia, and was attended by representatives from YPF and Pluspetrol of Argentina, Repsol and Pluspetrol of Peru, and VARICHEM and VETRA Group of Colombia.

The course was aimed at officers, leaders, coordinators and managers responsible for the strategy, preparation and management of contingency plans and response to emergencies in companies of the oil and gas sector.

ARPEL developed the Oil Spill Response Planning and Readiness Assessment Manual and its Readiness Evaluation/Excel Tool for Oil Spills - RETOS™ with the support of regional and international experts from governments and the industry.

The document and its evaluation tool are management tools, and their purpose is to provide a general guide to oil sector operators and governments, so that they may assess their own environmental management and apply the best practices to ensure the continuous improvement of their oil spill response management.

The Manual and RETOS™ are used by companies, governments and international programs in different parts of the world.