International Gas Autumn 2019

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND THE SECRETARY GENERAL

Dear Colleagues, Welcome to the latest edition of the IGU magazine and “Welcome to the start of the second lap” in our triennium!

It is hard to believe, but we are now well into year two of the Korean Presidency. With so much happening in the global world of gas and the internal world of IGU, time just flies. And that is only fitting for such a dynamic, multidimensional, global organisation as ours!

Your IGU leadership team has been working hard to elevate the long-term role of natural gas in a sustainable energy future, as we raise our global voice to communicate to the decision makers and key stakeholders that gas has a vital economic and environmental role in a sustainable future.

Amongst other things, we have been raising our voice in a number of platforms, including via social media, and if you are not already following @IGU_News on Twitter and LinkedIn, we encourage you to do so and stay on top of all the action live.

Key developments

To do a quick recap of our busy first half of 2019, let us turn to some of the key developments that took place in the last six months.

In April, we successfully completed one of our co-sponsored flagship events – the LNG2019 conference in Shanghai, with 40 plenary speakers and over 200 industry experts covering the most pressing issues in front of the LNG industry now and in the imme diate future. The impressive exhibition space featured an incredible array of over 200 market participants, and the latest technology and service providers. The conference successfully attracted 2,000 delegates and 15,000 total attendees.

With the LNG2019 conference as the backdrop, we successfully released the 2019 World LNG Report. This is one of the most sought-after IGU reports, delivered by the LNG Committee. This year’s report release was complete with a robust and greatly effective digital amplification campaign, including a short video of key findings that you can view on our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2H2wW7z.

Joo-Myung (Joe) Kang (right) and Luis Bertrán Rafecas.

IGU

Shortly after, in May at the Flame 2019 Conference in Amsterdam, IGU released our other flagship annual report, the Wholesale Gas Price Survey 2019 Edition. The survey is the 11th to be undertaken in a series that began in 2007. This is another excellent publication, which is widely used around the globe.

Both reports have been widely cited by the world’s top media, from Reuters to the Financial Times, and we would like to thank everyone who contributed to making these superb reports that have been so valuable to IGU and the amplification of the global voice of gas!

Also in May, we held a productive meeting of the IGU Executive Committee (EXC) in Santiago de Chile, and that was a historic event for IGU, as that is where the EXC endorsed the recommendation to transition to the Permanent Secretariat by mid-2021. The recommendation will be put in front of the Council for a final vote on date and location in October at the Indonesia meeting. So, we encourage all to attend this critical gathering!

In Santiago, we also had the opportunity to meet with the Minister of Environment of Chile, Ms Carolina Schmidt, and the Minister of Energy, Ms Susana Jimenez, and discuss plans for a joint COP25 event. Stay tuned for details as they develop.

We are very grateful to our host, Charter Member Asociación de Empresas de Gas Natural (AGN) for a memorable week in this beautiful city.

Next, G20! In June, IGU and the Japan Gas Association hosted the Natural Gas Day 2019 in Tokyo, organised on the occasion of the G20 Energy and Environment Ministerial. It was one of only three events featured in the official G20 Japan Presidency side-events listing.

Key Asian stakeholders from the energy sector and G20 representatives from 18 countries participated in the meeting. The theme of the event was “Securing Transparency, Competitiveness and Enhancing Security of Gas Markets in Asia”. An incredible success on all fronts, the IGU G20 engagement efforts continue to result in positive mentions of natural gas in the official proceedings, as this year’s communiqué that can be found here demonstrates: https://bit.ly/2IWTzvv.

The IGU leadership has continued to raise the global voice of gas by attending key global and regional conferences and events including CERAWeek 2019, the second meeting of the G20 Energy Sustainability Working Group, IEA’s 4th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency, the International Uzbekistan Oil and Gas Conference and the 20th Asia Oil and Gas Conference (AOGC, Malaysia).

Finally, we would like to draw your attention to the release of the second edition of the Global Natural Gas Insights booklet. It is an invaluable resource that provides key information on the value of natural gas in the sustainable global energy future. The 2019 edition also contains a special section on methane emissions, and the opportunities that their further reductions present for the industry. I encourage you to download your copy and look forward to sharing printed versions of the booklet with you at the Council meeting in Yogyakarta.

Looking forward

As far as this triennium’s work plan is concerned, the committees continue their work 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 leaders, supported by talented teams of industry professionals and look forward to learning more about their projects as they progress throughout the triennium. More details of their work are shared inside the pages of this issue.

Our next big event will be IGRC2020 hosted by the Sultanate of Oman in Muscat, February 24-26, 2020. Please check out the latest news at www.igrc2020.com. It promises to be a fantastic event dedicated to celebrate “Gas Innovations for a Sustainable Future”.

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.

Joo-Myung (Joe) Kang IGU President Luis Bertrán Rafecas IGU Secretary General