Joel “Monty” Pemberton, Founder and Managing Director, DeNovo Energy

Joel ‘Monty’ Pemberton is the Founder and Managing Director of DeNovo Energy Limited, Trinidad and Tobago’s first local upstream natural gas producer. DeNovo is part of the Proman family of companies.  A Chartered Accountant by profession, Monty has spent the last twenty years consistently delivering results in leadership roles within the global Energy Sector.  He is also the Deputy Chairman of Upstream for the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago.

Monty has gained a reputation for leveraging his financial acumen and innate entrepreneurial skills to enable and deliver successful oil and gas exploration and development projects.  He has raised over USD 400 million in the last ten years to invest in onshore and offshore ventures in Trinidad and Tobago, and is the first Trinidadian to successfully list a local company on the London Stock Exchange. 

In 2016, Monty founded DeNovo, and in less than three years, grew the company from a start-up to the largest Independent Upstream operator in Trinidad and Tobago.  DeNovo acquired offshore gas assets from Centrica Plc, and under Monty’s astute leadership, became the first company to independently monetise stranded gas reserves in Trinidad and Tobago.  The Iguana Field Development in Block 1(a) was the first ever west coast natural gas development, and the fastest delivered project of its nature.  The development included a drilling and completions campaign, the installation of an offshore platform and 45 km pipeline to shore, and the construction of an onshore gas processing facility, creating the first natural gas hub to take gas from the west coast to the Point Lisas Industrial Estate.  The project was delivered with over 70% local content on over 1.5 million manhours worked and zero Loss Time Incidents (LTI’s).

Passionate about education and the potential from digital transformation, Monty is keen to see a modernised, collaborative and progressive approach to education delivery that develops local talent for a global market.  He understands the need for diversification, and believes that the knowledge and expertise of the energy industry can be leveraged to transform attitudes towards learning, heighten the application of critical thinking to overcome challenges, and help propel Trinidad and Tobago towards a more sustainable future.