Message from the President and the Secretary General

MESSA GE FRO M THE AND THE SE CRE TARY PRES IDE GENERAL NT

Dear Colleagues, Welcome to the latest edition of the IGU magazine. We hope that your 2019 is off to a great start.

We are already nine months into the new triennium under the Korea Presidency. Your IGU leadership team remains committed to advancing the role for gas in a sustainable energy future, as we communicate to the world that gas is the fastest and most economical way to achieve that future. We continue to develop this Presidency’s three strategic focus areas:

Joo-Myung (Joe) Kang (right) and Luis Bertrán Rafecas. showing environmental leadership, enhancing market vitality and propelling value creation. At the same time, we are working hard to ensure that the value to the IGU membership continues to increase.

After WGC 2018 in Washington DC, we continued to step up our advocacy efforts, carrying on the momentum of that globally significant event. We kept the voice of gas strong and credible and participated in the most relevant global energy events.

As the world is facing a dual challenge of a growing need for energy while reducing emissions, our message is timely. Natural gas is a clean and versatile energy source that unlocks an opportunity for the planet to reliably meet the globally growing energy demand, reducing CO 2 and urban pollution while allowing economies to grow.

In November, we delivered this message at a UN Economic Commission for Europe event in Ukraine, where we spoke about the role of gas in meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Agenda.

In early October, we took part in the Latin America and Caribbean Gas Conference in Mexico, which put a strong emphasis on the role of the private investor in developing the region’s gas sector while presenting policy and investment

needs in national, bilateral and regional contexts.

Later that month we held a productive Council meeting in Venice, and we are very grateful to our host Comitato Italiano Gas for a memorable week in this beautiful city.

The 6th IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum took place in Barcelona in November, with a focused plenary session on “The Role of Gas Technologies in Resilient Low Carbon Energy Systems, Gas Demand Growth beyond Power Generation and Enhancing Gas Supply Security and Diversification”. It was attended by industry leaders and many important government representatives.

During COP 24 in December, we were present to speak for gas and highlight its contribution to delivering clean air, a topic that featured extremely prominently during the gathering in Katowice. IGU hosted an important urban air quality event at the Korea Pavilion and participated in a similar panel organised by PGNiG at the Polish Pavilion. We also partnered for the first time with the New Energy Coalition and Ecofys and delivered an exciting event that discussed key global developments in renewable, synthetic and hydrogen gases, at the EU Pavilion. All in all, we had a very productive time at COP 24 and were pleased with its outcomes for IGU, which included not only the public-facing events, but also a number of productive meetings with stakeholders that we hope will lead to new and strengthened strategic relationships in the year.

We have also already had a productive start to the year, kicking it off with the Oslo Diplomatic Gas Forum in January where IGU Secretary General Luis Bertrán Rafecas delivered a keynote speech looking back at the gas industry in 2018 and presenting the challenges and opportunities for future growth.

Finally, IGU participated in the first meeting of the Energy Transitions Working Group of the G20 under the Japanese G20 Presidency. Menelaos (Mel) Ydreos, Director, Public Affairs led the IGU delegation at this meeting in February. He presented the latest industry developments and spoke on the issues of energy security of supply and LNG bunkering.

You will be able to learn more details about these events and much more as you read through this edition of the magazine.

Work programme

As far as this triennium’s work programme is concerned, the committees and task forces kicked off their work with their first meetings in the second half of 2018, when they adopted plans to address important global gas topics, aligned with IGU’s strategy and advocacy priorities. We are very pleased that we have such a distinguished group of committee and task force leaders, supported by talented teams of industry professionals, and look forward to learning more about their projects as they progress throughout the triennium.

And now to the Coming Soon portion of our message! We are ready for the imminent release of the 2019 World LNG Report – one of the most sought-after IGU reports, delivered by the LNG Committee. It will be presented at our next big event, the LNG2019 Conference and Exhibition in Shanghai, where you can get your very own copy and ask questions of the authors. Don’t miss this fantastic event and the report!

We also would like to announce that the Sultanate of Oman is the newlyelected host for IGRC 2020, selected from several very professional bids we received. We congratulate Oman LNG and the bidding team and wish them success in the preparations leading up to the event.

Last but not least, we would like to encourage your comments and feedback. Your thoughts and opinions are very important to us, as it is our utmost priority to ensure that our members are being heard. If you have suggestions related to the IGU magazine, please submit them to: info@igu.org.

Thank you for your continued support and active engagement as we work to advance the natural gas industry and enhance IGU’s relevance.

With best regards, Joo-Myung (Joe) Kang IGU President Luis Bertrán Rafecas IGU Secretary General

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