Natural gas production platform at Tamar offshore Israel
The pace of change in the North American natural gas business has accelerated in recent months, with the US Department of Energy approval process for exports to non-free trade agreement countries failing to stop the achievement of major project milestones and new technology innovations driving market expansion.
Four projects have been approved by DOE for export to non-free trade agreement countries after a lengthy review process, with several more approvals pending as the recently sworn-in Energy Secretary Dr. Ernie Moniz – a self-described advocate for natural gas development in the US – has taken office.
Developers have been busy in the meantime, with Sempra signing a 20-year tolling capacity and joint-venture agreement with Mitsubishi, Mitsui and GDF Suez to support the development, financing and construction of an LNG export facility in Louisiana. Sempra LNG president Octavio Simões expects construction to start in 2014 once exports are approved by DOE and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission clears the start of building. The first LNG could be delivered as soon as 2017, Simões told Energy Dialogues LLC.
Energy Dialogues is hosting the North American Gas Forum 2013 in Washington, DC on September 30 and October 1. Breaking Energy is involved as a media partner, and Founding Editor Peter Gardett will be speaking at the event. For more information, click here, and for a list of featured speakers, see the bottom of this post.
This year’s forum will focus on the linking up of the natural gas value chain, and ways the industry can work together to grow the market for the fuel. The use of natural gas a transportation fuel to displace more-expensive and often-imported oil is one of the widely anticipated ways for natural gas demand to grow in North America, and the recent agreement between Westport Innovations and Canadian National Railway to build locomotives powered by natural gas is only part of a broader trend. Natural gas use for power generation and domestic applications is hardly new, but the expansion of its use in recent years as coal has been displaced is unprecedented and looks to continue expanding, with Northeast Utilities recently saying it would work to expand access to natural gas in Connecticut.
“Our economy is already feeling the positive impacts from abundant natural gas and we are only on the cusp of a resurgence that is expected to last for many decades to come. Getting the gas out of the ground, processed, and transported to all corners of our economy will not come without challenges. But these are good challenges to be facing,” Bruce McKay, Managing Director of Federal Affairs at Dominion commented in a recent conversation with Energy Dialogues. McKay is slated to speak at the upcoming North American Gas Forum.
“Fora like the North American Gas Forum where a variety of stakeholders come together in a setting designed to promote candid debate and exchange of views play a key role in advancing our industry” Simões told Energy Dialogues. Simões will be speaking on the LNG export panel on September 30.
Featured speakers at the Forum this month include:
- John Dashwood, Vice President – Americas, ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing
- Kevin Cramer, Congressman and Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources
- Christopher Smith, Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
- Greg Vesey, Vice President Supply & Trading, Chevron
- Tony Clark, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
- Octávio Simões, President, Sempra LNG
- Guy Braden, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, GDF Suez
- Howard Gruenspecht, Deputy Administrator, EIA
- Davis Thames, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Cheniere Energy
- Todd Campbell, Vice President of Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs, Clean Energy Fuels
- Bill Davis, Project Executive, Golden Pass Products
- Camilo Serna, Vice President Corporate Strategy, Northeast Utilities
- Badar Khan, President & CEO, Direct Energy
- Dan Esty, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environment
- Jim Arthurs, President, Cummins Westport Inc.
- Sherrie Merrow, Natural Gas Demand Generation, Encana
- Brian Ames, President of Olefins, Aromatics & Alternatives, Dow Chemical Company
- Guy Lewis, Strategic Marketing Director, UOP Honeywell
- Tom Choi, National Practice Leader – Gas, Deloitte MarketPoint
- Sergej Mahnovski, Director of Energy Policy, NYC Mayor’s Office
- Timothy Egan, President & CEO, Canadian Gas Association (CGA)
- Donald Santa, President & CEO, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA)
- Rich Coleman, Minister of Natural Gas Development, Ministry of Natural Gas Development British Columbia
- Richard Kruse, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and FERC Chief Compliance Officer, Spectra Energy
This post appears as part of Breaking Media’s media partnership for the North American Gas Forum.
