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Update on the 27th World Gas Conference
by IGU
By Jay Copan
v All WGC 2018 conference
activities will take place within the state-of-the-art Walter E Washington Convention Centre.
The 27th World Gas Conference (WGC) is now just over one year away and the level of planning, activity and accomplishment is proceeding at a rapid pace. The event will be held June 25-29, 2018 at the Walter E Washington Convention Center (WEW) in Washington DC. The WEW is a stunning, stateof-the-art venue in the heart of Washington DC – just minutes walk to all the major museums, monuments and important sights. Most importantly, virtually all hotel rooms are within an 18-minute walk of the WEW and all conference activities will take place within this beautiful self-contained venue. The exhibition space, 40,000m 2 , is likewise contained within the venue itself.
Under the direction of the National Organising Committee (NOC), chaired by Dave McCurdy, President and CEO of the American Gas Association (AGA), and working closely with the IGU Secretariat, the WGC team, led by IGU President David Carroll, is developing a market-based programme for the event, recognising all of the key issues and opportunities facing the global gas industry over the coming years. With the support of the 1,000-member IGU committee network, the team is preparing the most timely and topical programme ever conducted for WGC, a programme that will focus on three key areas: access, markets and social licence.
We are pleased that already over two dozen keynote speakers have confirmed their attendance and participation. These speakers represent not only the leaders of the global energy industry, but policymakers, NGOs, global customers, the financial community and other various constituencies. The most up-to-date listing of confirmed speakers can be found on the WGC website, www.wgc2018.com. The
WGC team met recently in Washington DC to develop plans for the Current Debates sessions at WGC. These discussions, formerly known as Strategic Panels, will focus on the absolute, most timely and topical, strategic, commercial and technical issues and opportunities facing the global gas industry.
WGC 2018 continues to engage a wide variety of constituencies as part of the programme and exhibition. For example, just some of these groups include: ◆
WGC 2018 is actively engaged with the new administration in Washington DC in terms of getting both domestic and international policymakers involved in the upcoming event. Planning is well under way for a number of briefings for policymakers.
Our Financial Advisory Board recently hosted meetings in New York to continue developing the support of the financial community for all things related to the
World Gas Conference.
We are continuing our engagement with the 177 resident embassies in the Washington
DC area through our Global Ambassadors
Network. Planning is well underway for an event later this year to discuss the geopolitics of natural gas, and where the WGC fits in with that topic.
Within the 40,000m 2 exhibition, there will be a number of special pavilions focusing on robotics and automation; LPG; gas as a transportation fuel; Showcase America and others. Over 80% of the exhibition space is already allocated.
The WGC 2018 Call for Papers will be issued on April 5, with submissions due by September 7. We encourage everyone to submit abstracts addressing the key issues facing the global gas industry and we encourage you to check out our website at www.wgc2018.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Conference registration will open on May 24.
The WGC team welcomes any and all suggestions regarding WGC 2018. Feel free to contact me personally at jcopan@wgc2018. com. We are under 500 days away from WGC 2018 and it is full speed ahead. All of us on the WGC team look forward to welcoming you to Washington DC in June 2018!
Jay Copan is Executive Director, WGC 2018, and serves as the Special Advisor to the President of the International Gas Union.
c WGC 2018 is actively
