ARPEL and the consulting firm Energy Performance co-organized the first edition of the course "Energy Management and ISO Standard 50001” on the virtual platform of the Association.

Around twenty professionals from ANCAP, HYTECH, OLDELVAL, PEMEX, PLUSPETRO, REPSOL, YPF, YPFB, and ENAP from Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador participated in this virtual training.

The instructors were Ms. Andrea Afranchi, Chemical Engineer specialized in energy efficiency, energy optimization of processes and utilities, energy audits and energy management; and Ms. Andrea Heins, professional with 20 years of experience in the energy sector.

The main objectives of the course are to establish guidelines for the implementation of an energy management system in process industries, with a focus on the oil and gas sector, to introduce ISO 50001, and to provide tools to manage the continuous improvement of the energy performance of the company.

The agenda of the virtual training included the following topics: Introduction to energy management according to ISO 50001; management systems; the first steps; the heart of the standard; implementation and verification of the EMS, and considerations and assurance of continuous improvement.

The methodology developed by ARPEL is on-line asynchronous, that is to say that it is not necessary to be connected in certain hours and days. In this case, the duration of the course is six weeks with approximately 65 hours in total.

The consumption of energy in a process industry may represent up to 60% of the operating costs and, therefore, constitute the largest of manageable costs. The benefits of implementing an Energy Management System (EMS) are not only in energy savings, but also in the increase in productivity, improvement of product quality and decrease in wastes. If we focus on industries that consume fossil fuels, energy efficiency also makes a contribution to the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.