CERA Week: Day Three

GAS DAY - By Ashley Baird - CleanSkies TV News - Houston, TX

Gas Day of CERAWEEK was by far the busiest day yet for the CSTV team on the ground in Houston. The day began with a 9 A.M. keynote address followed by back-to-back briefings and interviews lasting well into the evening. H.E. Gerhard Schroder, Former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, kicked off the day with an opening address on international energy issues, focusing on the United States, Europe and Russia. Schroder stressed the importance of setting up a cooperative system between the U.S., Europe and Russia. He advised the U.S. to initiate in direct dialogues on issues not only with Russia, but also with Iran, Syria and Hamas. During a Q&A session after his address, Schroder was asked about the policy of his former government phasing out nuclear power. He admitted that public support for it had dropped somewhat, but still believes they should follow through and close nuclear plants. He said plant closures are the only way to ensure that the big utilities make the needed investments in renewable energy.

Following Schroder’s address, CSTV’s Executive Editor Margaret Ryan sat down with Bob Fryklund, Vice President of Global Exploration and Production for CERA. Fryklund spoke on Day One of CERAWEEK, giving a speech entitled “The Challenges of the Sub-surface: Global Overview of Issues and Hot Spots”. He included a conversation about notable natural gas hotspots in the U.S., highlighting the Haynesville and Marcellus shales. He also mentioned hot spots in Canada, particularly around the Horn River. Fryklund said that shale gas is gaining steam across the globe, especially in Eastern Europe. You can catch this interview this week on www.cleanskies.tv.

Other major gas industry insiders spoke at CERAWEEK on Wednesday. Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy, spoke at the Global Gas Plenary and later gave a media briefing with Rune Bjorzon, Executive Vice President for Natural Gas at StatoilHydro. McClendon was optimistic in the era that he describes as “the age of gas”. During his presentation, McClendon told the audience that natural gas can lead to an industrial renaissance in America. Over time, he said, natural gas will move to the transportation network through either CNG vehicles or plug in electric hybrids. Chesapeake Energy funds the American Clean Skies Foundation, which sponsors CleanSkies.tv.

Meanwhile, I sat down with Julius Pretterebner, Director of Driving the Future Forum at CERA. We discussed the state of the auto industry and future of electric vehicles, which he thinks will play a prominent role in the future of U.S. vehicle transportation. You can also catch that interview this week on www.cleanskies.tv.

Right in step with the theme of Gas Day for CERAWEEK, CSTV’s Susan McGinnis interviewed Skip Horvath, President and CEO of the Natural Gas Supply Association. Mr. Horvath spoke on a panel discussing the outlook for U.S. carbon policy and the implications for North American Gas. Mr. Horvath believes that if there is an aggressive approach to carbon cap and trade legislation, the rush to natural gas will eventually become a reality. He expressed optimism for the natural gas industry, and was encouraged by the remarks he has heard so far at CERAWEEK. You can watch this interview on Thursday’s Energy Report at 4 PM Eastern time also at www.cleanskies.tv.

CSTV’s Margaret Ryan caught up with Hal Kvisle, CEO of TransCanada Corp., Canada’s biggest pipeline operator and also a major North American pipeline operator. Kvisle said this year’s CERAWEEK brings an atmosphere of uncertainty, due to gas prices hitting unexpectedly low levels. He said supply and demand will eventually go back into balance due to a slow down of drilling. One big project he mentioned that TransCanada is working on is the Keystone Crude Oil pipeline, which is now 25 percent complete and will be finished in four years. You can watch this interview on Thursday’s Energy Report at 4 PM and also on “CleanSkies Sunday” airing on ABC’s WJLA in Washington, D.C., this Sunday at 9:30 A.M.

CSTV was also able to get an inside peak on the history of CERAWEEK, and how this year’s conference is happening at a critical time for the energy industry. CSTV’s Susan McGinnis spoke with Lou Carranza, Co-Chair of CERAWEEK. Mr. Carranza discussed this year’s theme of “Energy in Turmoil”, describing 2009 as a brutal period for the energy industry. CERAWEEK 2009 , he said, brings a lot more clean energy to the program, as well as emphasis on coal and nuclear energy. Carranza hopes that next year’s CERAWEEK will bring more involvement from other companies involved around IHS. You can catch this interview on Friday’s Energy Report at 4 PM.

Closing out our day, the CSTV News team got a special preview for day four of CERAWEEK. CSTV’s Susan McGinnis sat down with Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund. Mr. Krupp is scheduled to speak on Thursday for the Morning Keynote Address at 9 AM CT. He’ll be speaking about several environmental issues, including global warming, carbon capture and storage, and the role coal plays in the U.S.’s energy future. Krupp told CSTV that the key to the coal industry is carbon capture and storage, which he believes is doable, yet its up to Congress to enact policy. You can catch Susan’s interview with Fred Krupp on Thursday’s Morning Report at 9 AM and on The Energy Report at 4 PM.

Be sure to tune to www.cleanskies.tv for our coverage of CERAWEEK 2009 all week long. Thursday marks “Power Day” and we’re ready to hit the ground running, bringing you full updates on all of our news programming.