South America / GoM

Panama flag
Summary | Profile

Country profile: Panama

Location: Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica
Climate: tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)
Terrain: interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills
Size: 78200 sq. km total (Land area: 75990 sq. km  Water area: 2210 sq.km)
Population: 3,292,693 (July 2008 est.)
Languages: Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual
Government: constitutional democracy
Capital city: Panama
Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Currency: balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD)
Licensing:

Country profile

With hardly any domestic hydrocarbon reserves, Central American countries rely heavily on imported oil for their energy needs. The countries of Central America, including Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, have traditionally been dependent upon agricultural exports for a large portion of their economic activity. However, in recent years, these countries have begun to diversify their economies towards manufacturing and tourism. As a result, the countries have been especially affected by high world oil prices in recent years. Partially offsetting this, many have been able to secure preferential pricing for oil from Venezuela and Mexico.

Central America does have a large amount of installed hydroelectric capacity, but the region still relies upon imports for some three-fourths of its total energy consumption. Despite the lack of sizable oil reserves, Central America remains an important transit center for oil via the Panama Canal and as a potential energy transit center between North and South America.

Energy production and consumption


Oil Gas
Production:    
Consumption: 93,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)  
Exports: 4,140 bbl/day (2006 est.)  
Imports: 92,170 bbl/day (2006 est.)  
Reserves:    
Major fields:



Panama - recent news

15 May 23
Panama: MPC Energy Solutions expands its development footprint in Latin America, signs first development service agreement in Panama
MPC Energy Solutions, a global provider of sustainable energy, has strengthened its commitment to deliver renewable energy solutions and expands its development footprint in Latin America by entering Panama. Through new developments focusing on ground-mounted solar PV, the company enhances its ambition to significantly expand its project pipeline in Latin America.

Panama - more news

Other countries in this region




A global information service for upstream oil and gas opportunities - divestitures, farmins and farmouts and licensing rounds.


Subscriber Only Deals

Current Deals

Current Upstream Deals: 237

Completed Deals

Completed Upstream Deals: 6558

Company Profiles

Current Company Profiles: 2912

Corporate Activity

Current Corporate Activity articles: 4135

Companies Looking

Current number of articles: 466

Company Sales

Current Company Sales articles:1653

Geostudies

Current Geostudies articles: 964

How to subscribe

energy-pedia Jobs

RSS Feed Widget
See all jobs...


energy-pedia Databank

The energy-pedia databank contains links to information on the world financial and energy markets, including share prices, oil and gas prices and the global stock exchanges. Read more...



energy-pedia Glossary

A list of commonly used terms in the oil and gas industry. Read more...

Subscribe

Subscribe to the FREE
energy-pedia Daily Newsletter
Subscribe

Government of South Australia
Union Jack Oil 149
Bayphase
Rose & Assocs
Syntillica
Borchwix
energy365
Telos NRG
Merlin
OPC
About energy-pedia

energy-pedia news is a FREE news service written and edited by E and P professionals for E and P professionals.

We don't just report the news, we give you the technical background as well, with additional information derived from our unique energy-pedia opportunities service.
Contact us

energy365 Ltd

238 High Street
London Colney
St Albans
UNITED KINGDOM

Tel: +44(0)1727 822675

Email: info@energy-pedia.com