This section encompasses a wide range of GVC related information:
- ‘Events’ captures activities such as speeches and moderations at conferences and symposiae and, moreover, the appearance at/participation in any such events.
- ‘News’ captures all occurences relevant in the context of GVC’s business not qualifying as an ‘Event’ but worth sharing.
The Hague, 29-30 June 2017
Wolfgang attends the ‘Eurogas General Assembly’ in The Hague, on 29-30 June 2017.
The General Assembly of the European Gas Industry Association Eurogas was this year hosted by Shell in The Hague. High level guest and keynote speaker was Florian Ermacora, Head of Unit, European Commission, DG ENER, Internal Energy Market, Wholesale Markets, Electricity and Gas. The agenda addressed various aspects of the role of gas in the energy transition with a strong focus Read more on the power-to-gas technology. Not least in Germany, increasing quantities of renewable electricity are ‘lost’ by curtailment since produced whilst there was no demand. As opposed to other electricity storage technologies like batteries etc., the power-to-gas technology (hydrogen and synthetic gas) enables storage of otherwise ‘lost’ renewable electricity in large quantities over long periods of time.
The Hague, 22 June 2017
Wolfgang attends the presentation of the “BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2017” hosted by the CIEP in The Hague, on 22 June 2017.
The renowned “Clingendael International Energy Program” (CIEP) headed by Prof. Coby van der Linde hosted the presentation of the traditional and widely respected ‘BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2017’. The speaker Read more was Richard de Caux, Head Refining Economics of BP. He focused inter alia on the oil demand impact of e-mobility and peak demand scenarios in the context of proliferation of e-mobility and the global energy transition at large.
Milan, 30-31 May 2017
Wolfgang speaks at the ‘3rd Annual Conference on Eurasian Natural Gas Infrastructure’ in Milan, on 30 May 2017: “Impact of the evolving global gas market on the Eurasian gas market and the implications of COP21”.
He emphasizes that, in the context of the ‘LNG revolution’, a completely new world is evolving, with Read more flexible LNG supplies without destination constraints and hence capable of responding to price signals. Conversely, the Eurasian “Henry Hub” is far advanced and capable of sending such price signals. Also, Eurasia meanwhile avails of ~220 bcm/a of regasification capacity largely idle. On COP21 he sees a role for natural gas in the fuel mix for decades to come but cautions that the gas industry must adapt, e.g. by the accommodation of hydrogen, synthetic gas and biogas in its distribution systems in order for gas to become part of a holistic energy system.
Wolfgang also chaired and moderated the first and the second session of the conference with a total of 10 speakers.
Amsterdam, 8-11 May 2017
Wolfgang chairs two panels at the ‘FLAME Gas Conference’ in Amsterdam, from 8 to 11 May 2017:
First Panel: “The Future of Midstream Gas & Transmission”
Second Panel: “Pipelines & Interconnectors”
The panelists of the first panel (The Future of Midstream Gas & Transmission) were Read more
The focus of the discussions was, on commodity, the ability and willingness of the midstreamer to act as large bulk distribution service provider for the producer against a service fee. On infrastructure, the discussion focused on the risk of stranded assets and the need to adapt to a world of renewables, where the gas grid could serve as storage for hydrogen (and synthetic gas) derived from surplus renewables power.
The panelists of the second panel (Pipelines & Interconnectors) were Ulrike Andres, Commercial and External Affairs Director, Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Christoph von dem Bussche, Managing Director, GASCADE Gastransport & NEL Gastransport, Eser Ozdil, Secretary General, PETFORM, Gulmira Rzayeva, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Strategic Studies (SAM) and Ana Stanic, Founder, E&A Law.
The panelists covered a wide berth of ongoing infrastructure projects, the Southern Corridor with the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCPX), the Transanatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Transadriatic Pipeline (TAP) on the one hand and the onshore extension of Nordstream 2 in Germany via EUGAL. A main theme across the board was that pipelines should not be politicized and the rule of law should apply.
The Hague 13 April 2017
Wolfgang attends the CIEP Energy Lecture Series “Corporate Perspectives on Energy Transition” in The Hague, on 13 April 2017.
The renowned “Clingendael International Energy Program” (CIEP) headed by Prof. Coby van der Linde has launched a series of presentations by industry leaders to explore economically meaningful and effective ways to battle climate change. The first speaker of the series was Allard Castelein, CEO and President of the Port of Rotterdam. Read more
In the face of Rotterdam Port causing 20% of the Dutch CO2 emissions, he presented an initiative of 120 companies active at Rotterdam Port with plans for efficiency improvements, process optimization, but also gathering excess process heat for residential heating, power-to-hydrogene and power-to-gas projects, and a relaunch of a CCS (carbon capture storage) project by use of depleted reservoirs offshore the Netherlands as a service to CO2 emitters, in cooperation with Dutch upstream operators.Gothenburg 7 March 2017
Wolfgang speaks at the ‘Swedish Gas Market Council’ Gathering in Gothenburg, on 7 March 2017: “German Energiewende – A steep fall: from champion to ‘fossil of the day’”.
Whilst a widespread perception regards the German Energiewende as a role model, Wolfgang recalls that Germany was declared “fossil of the day” in Marrakech in November 2016 on occasion of COP22. He presents Read more the prohibitive costs of the German Energiewende for the citizens and the society at large and the failure to achieve any CO2 reduction at all but rather, once more in 2016, an increase of such. He demonstrates that an increased deployment of gas in the power generation sector, but in future also in the heat and transport sector, would be hugely beneficial for climate and clean air.
Nicosia 1 March 2017
Wolfgang speaks at the ‘8th Mediterranian Oil & Gas Forum 2017’ in Nicosia, on 1 March 2017: “Natural gas in global context – Implications for Cyprus”
Whilst natural gas is on its way to become a globally traded commodity, with implications for global price spreads (as opposed to prices in separate regions) Read more as well as a revised view on security of supply, the promising discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranian pose a challenge and an opportunity for Cyprus. In the context of battling climate change, the deployment of natural gas in the Cypriot domestic market poses a great opportunity, if smartly combined with the economically most feasible export mechanism.