OPENING KEYNOTE: A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TRANSITION TOWARDS CARBON NEUTRALITY
Carbon neutrality goals impact all aspects of energy systems. The technology options for decarbonizing these systems, the costs of the transition, and the time period over which the goal can be achieved all impact which paths a country may take to achieve carbon neutrality. Our opening keynote will examine some of these paths and show how carbon neutral goals can only be met successfully through collaboration between players locally and internationally, within effective facilitating policies, and technology development and adaptation.
LUNCHEON ADDRESS: THE FUTURE OF FINANCE IN GAS INVESTMENT
2021 was record-breaking year for green finance, as governments, international institutions, and lenders sought to support the shift towards renewables and decarbonization. In addition to funding new environmentally friendly projects, global financial markets have also turned to specific tools designed to ensure a responsible transition towards low-carbon sources of energy. During this luncheon we will discuss these new financial instruments and the extent the increase in demand for sustainable finance will coincide with a move away from funding fossil fuel projects.
P1: NARRATIVES FOR THE GLOBAL GAS MARKET TRANSFORMATION TOWARDS VIABLE ENERGY TRANSITION AND ENERGY SECURITY
The natural gas industry faces risks and opportunities across its entire value chain in the transition to net-zero emissions. Yet changing energy systems is a complex and long-term process and many see both a medium and long-term role for natural gas in the world’s energy mix. Where it replaces today more polluting fuels, it improves air quality and limits emissions of carbon dioxide and provides accessible energy that helps nations address any number of challenges as they seek to grow their economies. In the longer term natural gas can be a driver of the energy transition because of its central role in the scaling up of new technologies. This session will address the inherent opportunities, challenges and limitations allowing the industry to compete as the world transitions to a low-carbon future.
- How will gas companies evolve their strategies based on their current businesses and future aspirations?
- What will be the role of the industry’s existing infrastructure in utilizing new low carbon technologies?
- What innovative technologies will the gas industry play a key role in developing?
- How will CCUS technology and hydrogen production in the longer term enable natural gas to align with a net-zero pathway?
- How could gas’ role be undermined if flaring, venting, and fugitive methane emissions along the natural gas supply chain are not significantly addressed?
P2: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE POST PANDEMIC GAS INDUSTRY
2020 proved turbulent for oil and gas companies with dramatic drops in oil prices, demand, revenues, and capital expenditures. 2021 saw prices soar and global shortages. For 2022 and beyond the single biggest questions facing the gas industry may be the level of enthusiasm capital markets exhibit for investing in the industry, its ability to reduce emissions, and the path companies choose as they reinvent themselves and their business models. In this session our panelists will explore the short-term industry trends we should watch and how they will affect market dynamics.
- How are changes in technology, regulation, finance, and consumer behaviours challenging the traditional role of natural gas as a fuel?
- How is the gas industry moving from commitment to action in reducing its GHG footprint and making sustainability related changes to their operations?
- How is the gas industry diversifying its revenue stream and expanding into new areas with innovative business models? What new partnerships are being formed?
P3: HOW GAS CAN MEET SOCIETY’S NEEDS AND CARBON NEUTRALITY
This session discusses how the gas energy industry is responding to meet the social needs of carbon neutrality and how these policies will impact the future use of gas. This session will discuss the initiatives the industry is taking to decarbonize their operations including the controversial option of balancing their emissions through offsetting and the purchase of carbon credits.
- What steps are the industries taking to make decarbonization a reality?
- While not a perfect solution, in what ways are offsets useful in helping environmental projects that can’t secure funding on their own while giving companies an increased opportunity to reduce and track their carbon footprint?
- Aside from a lack of a global standard and accounting issues, what are the other controversies related to a more general method for gas?
SUMMIT DIALOGUE: DIVERSITY, COMPLEXITY AND NECESSITY IN THE GLOBAL ENERGY MIX
Join us in a high-level dialogue about the opportunities and challenges along the path to universal energy access and an accelerated clean energy transition. What will be the innovative technologies, policies and partnerships that will shape our future energy mix? How can the pledges by governments to achieve net-zero be achieved? What are the key uncertainties in a transition of this scale? What will be the future role of our respective energy resources in the transition? Have traditional fuels gained new acceptance in a world of surging energy prices?
LUNCHEON ADDRESS: THE IMPACT OF SUSTAINABILITY TO THE MARITIME INDUSTRY
The decarbonization of the shipping industry will require an industry wide transition and collaboration among shippers, fuel and infrastructure providers, financial institutions and government and intergovernmental organizations. During our luncheon today, our speaker will discuss the challenges facing the maritime industry, the actions being taken to meet sustainability goals, and the technologies that may be employed to provide alternative sources of fuels that will significantly lower these emissions.
P4: THE GLOBAL LNG PLAYERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON NEW INVESTMENTS
LNG finds itself in the middle of an international energy storm. It is seen by many as a temporary guarantor of energy security, while decarbonization remains a long-term goal. We are witnessing a fundamental long-term change in energy markets and the emergence of natural gas as a global commodity. Join our panel of global LNG leaders as they discuss how we diversify and increase LNG supplies in this fast-changing landscape.
- Are the LNG price levels of 2021/22 a major benefit for LNG developers and sellers because their business will be very profitable; or a major problem because many of the markets which they serve, and are hoping to serve in the future, will not be able to pay such high prices and will reorient their energy balances to other forms of energy?
- How has the price volatility of the 2019-22 period impacted the view of global LNG players on different regional LNG price indices: Henry Hub, NBP/TTF, JCC/JKM, Brent crude?
- Are 2050 net zero emission goals in LNG importing countries a threat for investors which need buyers to sign 20+ year contracts for greenfield LNG projects?
P5: GAS IN ASIA – A PATH OR THREAT TO NET ZERO GOALS
The Asia Pacific region could account for over half of incremental global gas consumption in the coming years. While the prospects of natural gas remain strong in this market, the opportunities are mixed with risks that include climate change, price volatility, energy and financial policy shifts, market competition with renewable energy, and fluctuating demand. This plenary will provide a view of the future and how gas can navigate the underlying risks and complex economic, legal and regulatory challenges in this market.
- Are the LNG price levels of 2021/22 a major problem for Asian countries and a threat to the role of gas as a `bridge’ to achieving net zero goals?
- Have these price levels changed the view of gas/LNG in Asian countries to favour lower cost energy such as domestic coal, or lower carbon sources such as nuclear power and renewables?
- Are Asian buyer still able to sign 20+year contracts for LNG and still meet their net zero emission goals?
P6: INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY: MULTI-DISCIPLINARY DESIGN FOR THE FUTURE
This plenary explores where R&D investments are being made and the technological innovations for a sustainable energy industry that are crossing borders and value chains. Discussions will include reducing methane emissions, enhancing storage, and the role of both renewables and LNG.
How will economic, regulatory and environmental pressures drive technologies that reduce or capture carbon emissions?
- What are the challenges in reducing the carbon intensity of natural gas through the use of green gas?
- What will be the challenges in adapting infrastructure to accommodate synthetic and hydrogen gas?
- What are the R&D challenges facing the gas industry today and what is the potential for global collaboration?
P7: ROLE OF GAS TO DRIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND MITIGATE ENERGY POVERTY
Accessing energy is the single most important factor in improving the lives of individuals and increasing economic growth in communities. This plenary explores the opportunities and challenges for the gas industry in providing affordable clean energy for cooking, heating, lighting, and infrastructure, in order to drive economic development and help alleviate poverty.
- What are the challenges facing the gas industry in developing markets such as Asia and Africa when competing with other fuels?
- From clean cooking to clean transportation to industrial development, how can gas make a difference?
- What long-term commitments from governments and development agencies will be available to support infrastructure development?
- What are the financial challenges in building new gas infrastructure in developing countries?
