hydrocarbon endowment

[Nourasal]

Hi,

Energy Access and Innovation program aims to improve energy access and drive energy innovation
- Position the country to drive this evolution globally through its hydrocarbon endowment

Does "hydrocarbon endowment" mean "hydrocarbon wealth"?

Thanks,

 

[Uncle Jack]

Where is this from? Which country does it refer to?

I suspect "endowment" refers to a sum of money, and if the country is an oil-producing nation, then it could well be money the country has from selling hydrocarbons (oil and gas), similar in nature, perhaps, to Norway's sovereign wealth fund that was created so the entire country could benefit from the oil reserves discovered off the Norwegian coast.

 

[Tommy2Sheds]

"Hydrocarbon endowment" is a phrase intended to imply that the hydrocarbons in a country are a form of wealth that has been inherited by the country.
This is a technical term used in geology to describe hydrocarbon deposits in geological formations, and how they may be distributed in the structures. Recently the phrase has started to be used more widely in non-technical contexts.

 

[Uncle Jack]

Recently the phrase has started to be used more widely in non-technical contexts.

Thank you for that. It is not a usage I had come across before.

 

[Tommy2Sheds]

Thank you for that. It is not a usage I had come across before.

Yes, it is unusual: I have only seen the phrase appear in non-technical writing very recently, and this is a field I have worked in for a while.
EDIT: It might be more common in AE?