Dominican Republic promotes hydrocarbon investment at IMAGE 2026 in Houston

One of the Caribbean region’s up-and-coming energy markets has stepped into the global spotlight, showcasing untapped hydrocarbon resources and attractive exploration opportunities at one of the energy industry’s most prestigious annual gatherings. At the 2026 International Meeting on Applied Geosciences and Energy, better known as IMAGE 2026, held in Houston, Texas, the Dominican Republic made a targeted push to draw international capital to its growing oil and gas sector. The country’s official delegation was led by the Dominican Ministry of Energy and Mines, with the event coordinated through the ministry’s Vice Ministry of Hydrocarbons. To help attendees explore collaborative and investment options, the Dominican team set up a dedicated institutional booth at the convention center, where representatives walked visitors through the full pipeline of active and upcoming exploration and production projects available to outside partners. Beyond project displays, the conference served as a critical networking hub for Dominican energy officials, giving them a structured platform to connect with a diverse cross-section of global industry stakeholders. These included specialized energy service companies, peer government energy institutions, private international investors, and leading geoscience and energy professionals from across the world. Through these conversations, the delegation was able to share detailed up-to-date data on the country’s resource potential, regulatory framework for upstream energy development, and the advantages of establishing operations in the Dominican Republic. Held between August 17 and 20 at Houston’s iconic George R. Brown Convention Center, the 2026 IMAGE event brought together roughly 7,800 registered participants working across the geosciences and global energy sectors. The conference was co-organized by three of the field’s most respected professional associations: the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), and the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM). Across the four-day event, attendees had access to a packed program of industry content, including more than 1,100 individual technical presentations, panel-led roundtables focused on emerging industry trends, hands-on professional workshops, and practical skills development courses for working geoscience and energy professionals.