Agenda

Session I: Quenching Europe’s thirst for energy
Rising to the Occasion While Avoiding the Hangover

Europe is at a key juncture in defining and building the strategic foundations of its future energy supply, driven by increasing demand and declining indigenous production that has to be presently met by proportionately increased reliance on fossil fuels and net growth in imports. Never have there been so many factors at work simultaneously:  liberalisation of European markets; security of supply concerns and political risk; supply constraints and disruptions in the energy chain; emerging regulatory requirements relating to climate change and emission controls; environmental sensitivity and planning controls.

The decisions energy executives and government officials must make in the months and years ahead are unparalleled, both in their complexity and importance. Making informed strategic decisions based on the most accurate information available, and evaluating all options and their associated risks in a dynamic environment will be a critical success factor, not just for individual companies, but for Europe as a whole. This session will look a little more closely at the interplay between these key factors; opportunities for cross-commodity diversification; and risk-mitigation considerations.

Chairperson: Amanda Woodbine, SVP, IHS

• “European Quest for Energy Security & EU Inter-dependence”: Cynthia Poynter, Senior Manager Midstream, IHS

"More than a Bureaucratic Holy Grail" New gas pipeline and LNG projects will best benefit all stakeholders with an interconnected EU supply grid. What steps are being taken, and what is the optimal strategy to best secure Europe's energy future?

• “Rising to the Challenge of Run-away Distillate Demand”: Olivier Abadie, Director Downstream Strategy, CERA

How will bio fuels affect market dynamics - friend or foe? What will be the implications for regional trade movements and opportunities for the European refining sector?

• Resurgence of Reliability: Why Coal Must Be Part of Our Energy Future: Gerard McCloskey, Chairman & Founder of the McCloskey Group

As environmental activists seek to demonize coal as a core fuel source for power generation plants, the issue over its use is not that simple. This session will address the critical role clean coal must play in securing our energy future and its role in helping to meet rapidly growing demand for electricity today while examining strategies for reduction in Co2 emissions stemming from its use.

• “Power to the People”: Philippe Paelinck, GPS - Product Director CO2 Market, Alstom

More than just the words to a John Lennon song, providing power to rapidly growing populations and expanding economies is challenging suppliers and consumers as how to address the options available to them, with no easy and fast answers. Consumers demand a steady, affordable power supply while pushing for more renewable energy sources, but what is realistic in terms of energy mix, and what must be done to move these alternatives forward to viability?

• “Losing the chain: preventing risks to supply chain disruption”: Christian LeMiere, Managing Editor, Jane's Country Risk

Europe is increasingly demanding, and being supplied, oil and gas from the African continent. However, fears over non-state armed groups, political Islamic organisations and instability currently beset the image of African energy supply countries. Sober and impartial analysis of the scale and likelihood of geopolitical and security threats to supply are vital for both international energy producers and European consumers. 

E&P companies search for undeveloped upstream opportunities to exploit, or for producing assets to acquire, with an eye on the infrastructure assets available to them for distribution. Infrastructure companies seek to build or acquire storage, refining and transportation assets with an eye on the upstream sources of energy they can easily deliver. Investors and fund managers seek to acquire equity or corporate debt assets of those companies who have a track record in making these investment decisions correctly. Governments use sources of foreign revenue inflows, often to their NOCs, with which to build and grow their sovereign wealth funds. These portfolios, differing hugely in nature, are nonetheless interlinked and mutually dependent on each others success. Making the optimal investment decisions, whether in an oil field or in an oil company requires accurate information from multiple sources, and effective allocation of capital requires an efficient market and the necessary transparency. This session explores the drivers and considerations behind the building and management of upstream asset portfolios; the drivers and trends behind company M&As and company valuations; and the future climate for raising capital through structured debt to fund portfolio growth, particularly for large infrastructure and technically complex ‘frontier’ exploration projects.

Chairperson: Bob Fryklund, Vice President of Industry Relations, IHS

As an independent, Afren is an example of how to build a fast-growing asset portfolio from nothing in three years. What were the factors and approaches that made this possible and are required to drive sustained portfolio growth in the future?

• “Investing in our Energy Future: Creating the global E&P portfolio of tomorrow”: Ivan Sandrea, Head of Strategy for International Exploration & Production, StatoilHydro

What are the approaches that major oil companies need to adopt to build and manage their strategic global E&P asset portfolio? Are portfolio performance goals and portfolio strategy changing?

M&A activity in the energy sector is expected to rise again and, coupled with continuing high oil prices, both factors are assumed to keep this an attractive sector for investors. But company results have not been uniformly good. Is the market still bullish on energy?

• “Financing Energy’s Future”: Richard Walker, Executive Director, Oil & Gas Corporate Finance, ABN AMRO

Financing for the energy supply sector comes from three sources: internal cash generation, public funding and private financing. The IEA estimates that a total capital investment of $8.1 trillion, equivalent to an average of $300 billion per year (in 2005 dollars), is needed from 2003 to 2030 for the developing and transition economies to meet their energy needs. Solutions to financing high-risk exploration projects, financing M&As and raising capital for long-term infrastructure investment have been varied and creative in the past. What options exist today and in the future, with capital markets in the grip of the credit crisis?

Climate change is now seen as an irrefutable fact, by companies and governments alike - no longer a matter of opinion. Whatever the local regulatory regime, it is becoming ‘politically incorrect’ and potentially brand-damaging to be perceived as ignoring it. Emission controls, cap-and-trade schemes and carbon sequestration technology are a wide-ranging set of responses and separately have had a varied and sometimes chequered beginning. Legal strictures regarding environmental protection and political pressures surrounding the management of global biodiversity add to create a complex and evolving mixture of externally and internally imposed rules of behaviour that will play an ever increasing role in how energy companies operate. History has shown that confronted with the unknown, the temptation is for companies to second-guess and risk prime-mover disadvantage is real – as equally a risk-prone approach as being just a follower. This session attempts to provide some navigation for sailing through these new, unchartered waters.

Chairperson: Scott Key, President & COO, Jane’s

• “Oil operations and the environment – which one is more endangered”: Professor Jon Hutton, Director, UNEP - WCMC

As the search for new hydrocarbon resources becomes more challenging, the risks associated with this quest increase. How can the energy industry gain competitive edge and deliver what is expected of it, whilst also protecting the environment? Is it such a difficult balancing act?

• “The low-carbon road to heaven – more than just paved with good intentions”: Robert LaCount, Head of Climate Change and Clean Energy group, CERA

High energy prices, climate change and energy security are converging as the new engine driving the development of clean energy. The push for new policies and increasing private investments are moving clean energy technologies from the fringes of the global energy industry to the center of activities. Yet a great divide remains in terms of cost, proven results, scale and maturity separating clean technologies from markets served by mainstream technologies and processes. What are the opportunities, risks, and potential pitfalls as the energy industry moves to adopt clean technologies that will be part of a low-carbon pathway to the energy future?

• “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: A Look at Corporate Responsibility in the Energy Industry and its Role in Energy Security and Building a Sustainable Future,”: Elizabeth Cheney, Vice President of Corporate Support, Shell Exploration & Production

Corporate Social Responsibility (SCR) is a competitive and commercial imperative for companies and brands today. It is concept whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects of their operations. This obligation extends beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organizations voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for the local community and society at large. Managing risk is a central part of many corporate strategies, and for oil and gas companies, above-ground risks are increasingly outweighing below-ground risks. Reputations that take decades to establish can be ruined in hours through incidents such as corruption scandals or environmental accidents. This session will address the strategies and benefits for making these essential investments in the bank of “goodwill” and how CSR is an imperative to both economic and energy security as well as environmental sustainability.

• “Welcome to the Age of Refinement: The Refining Capacity Challenge — Answering the need for greater processing efficiency whilst staying clean,”: Simon Pugh, Head of Process Engineering Relations, IHS

In this age of uncertainty, the downstream industry faces challenging issues driven by ongoing high crude-oil prices, strains on refining capacity, a growing interest in refining heavy oil sands and other process-intensive crudes, while addressing new health and safety regulations, environmental stewardship and the future profitability of refineries. Process companies are constantly driven to boost their operational efficiency and throughput via improved plant design and improved operational process and parameters. Of course, many will argue that this is bound to have an adverse environmental impact. But, paradoxically, there are win-win examples where both the company and the environment benefit. An extensive array of clean and efficient energy supply and demand/process technologies exists – perhaps it doesn’t always need to be a difficult balancing act?