The Energy Chamber of T&T will host its annual energy conference on February 3 to 5, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain. It is the premier energy conference in the Caribbean.
Approximately 2,000 visitors were in attendance over the three days of the 2013 conference–roughly six to seven times more than other annual energy conferences held in the country. Delegates from the US, Australia, the UK, Germany, Canada, Suriname, among others were participants. The conference attracts senior decision-makers in the industry including the CEOs, supply chain, finance and operations managers of the major upstream, midstream, and downstream operator companies in T&T.
Next year the conference is expected to be an even greater success, as the 2013 post conference survey indicates that 97 per cent of delegates will return, and 100 per cent will recommend the conference to others.
The theme of next year's conference is "Winning in an Evolving Energy World." The sector is at a point where it must evolve in order to remain competitive given the changing global landscape. The shale gas revolution, the expansion of the Panama Canal, innovations in deepwater technology, shifting gas markets, and new hydrocarbon discoveries in emerging markets (eg East Africa), suggest that T&T must rethink and tweak its approach by factoring in these global changes.
While T&T is on the cusp of deepwater expansion, the sector still battles with declining levels of crude and condensate production, and challenges with gas production. To help reverse this decline, T&T will have to look towards incorporating innovative technologies to develop stranded gas fields.
In addition, when compared to other more competitive energy sector provinces, T&T offers less competitive fiscal terms to upstream operators and a risk-reward structure along the gas value chain that does not encourage investment. The conference will highlight the challenges facing the T&T energy sector in light of global changes, focus on increasing oil and gas production, highlight new innovation and technology for deepwater exploration, and propose strategies to sustain investment.
Every year the Energy Chamber features a core panel of local and international high profile speakers. Next year Dr Steven Chu will deliver a presentation on the future trends in the global energy sector. Dr Chu has served as the 12th US secretary of energy during President Obama's administration. Under his leadership in the Obama Cabinet, the Department of Energy began ARPA-E, the Energy Innovation Hubs, and the Clean Energy Ministerial.
Chu remains committed to mitigating climate change through the development of new technologies and business models that will accelerate the transition to sustainable energy. In fact, with his directive the deployment of renewable energy in the US was doubled. He is distinctive in his breadth of interdisciplinary research and his international experience as a leader in the federal government.
He remains active on both fronts and is acknowledged as a pioneer in both science and energy policy. Dr Chu is also the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics (1997) for his contributions to the laser cooling and trapping of atoms, a holder of ten patents, and has been awarded 23 honorary degrees.
Other prominent speakers include Katherine Spector, who is the head of Commodities Strategy at CIBC World Markets, and distinguished Prof Emeritus Vaclav Smil. In addition, the Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs Kevin Ramnarine will deliver the feature address. In the past Jeroen Van Der Veer, former Shell CEO; Alvaro Uribe, former president of Colombia; and Xavier Sala-i-Martin professor of Economics, Columbia University have all delivered feature addresses.
Green Energy Day-February 5
The conference will also focus on developing the local green economy. T&T, like many other small island states are faced with the challenge of renewable energy development and struggle with the impacts of climate change. It is urgent that we identify and implement effective adaptation and mitigation measures to cushion the blow of climate change on our economy.
February 5, 2014 (day three) of the conference, will be devoted to green energy discourse which will allow for information exchange, networking and business opportunities in renewable energy and energy efficiency for those in attendance.
Energy conference trade show
The energy conference also features a trade show which runs concurrently with the conference. The trade show provides an opportunity for local and foreign companies to showcase their products, get business and provides great networking prospects. In 2013, the trade show attracted significant traffic of approximately 2,500 visitors.
Next year's trade show is expected to be even bigger. Its huge success this year prompted exhibitors to book their trade show booths for 2014 early. Trade show booths for next year's conference are already sold out.
Sherwin Long is a senior research specialist, The Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago