December 3-5, 2024
| Norris Conference Center (CityCentre), Houston, TX
Main Conference Day 1: Wednesday, December 4
7:00 am - 8:00 am
Registration And Networking Breakfast
8:00 am - 8:05 am
Welcome From Event Director
8:05 am - 8:10 am
Chair’s Opening Remarks
8:10 am - 8:40 am
Innovations and Insights on Decarbonizing Power Generation for Sustainable Data Centers
Jake Carnemark -
Founder & CEO,
Endeavour
- Explore the intersection of novel technologies that are fuelling the wider carbon shift and methane mitigation strategies
- Discuss powering a zero-carbon grid and building a next-generation power system to deliver consistent and reliable clean energy for critical infrastructure
- Analyze the future energy outlook
8:40 am - 9:10 am
Operationalizing Your Emissions Monitoring Program: A Strategic Approach to Methane Management
Shankar Annamalai -
Senior Vice President, Emissions Technologies & Permian Geomarket,
ChampionX
As methane reduction remains a critical component of decarbonization, oil and gas companies must continuously adapt their emissions management strategies. During this keynote, ChampionX will cut through the complexities, offering actionable steps for establishing or enhancing your emissions monitoring program that meet today's needs and anticipate tomorrow's regulatory demands.
Key areas of focus include:
- Selecting the Right Emissions Monitoring Toolkit: Gain insights on choosing technologies that not only fulfill operational requirements but also align with evolving regulatory expectations.
- Assessing Internal Processes and Systems: Learn how to optimize internal processes to accurately measure emissions, track progress, and manage reduction strategies effectively.
- Leveraging Data for Decision-Making: Discover how to use emissions data to drive smarter investments, ensuring maximum impact on mitigation and operations for long-term success.
Shankar Annamalai
Senior Vice President, Emissions Technologies & Permian GeomarketChampionX
9:10 am - 9:40 am
Sequitur Energy Resources 2024 Methane Reduction Strategy: Effects of the Subpart W Regulatory Changes
Russ Perry -
Director, HSE and Regulatory,
Sequitur Resources
- Regulatory oversight of OOOOb and Subpart W requirements and operational ramifications
- YOY emissions source identification, including 2025+ new EPA source categories
- Subpart W GHG Methane Fee Calculations
- Addressing Pneumatics and the Methane Slip as a key emissions source
- Strategic focus for 2H 2024 and 1H 2025 to achieve WEC Zero
9:40 am - 10:10 am
Morning Networking Break
Track A - Operations
10:10 am - 10:50 am Developing Standards and Frameworks for Re-mote Sensing and Quantification TJ Conway - Principal, Climate Intelligence Program, RMIJeremy Koster - Vice President, Sales and Operation Development, Duke Energy
Daniel Cusworth - Science Director, Carbon Mapper
Ryan Mattson - VP Oil and Gas, GHGSat
As point source remote sensing quantification becomes more common, it is vital to establish clear guidelines and protocols that ensure consistency, reliability, and comparability across various measurement techniques. This session will converge those at the cutting-edge of remote sensing research to:
- Evaluate remote sensing methods, including satellite-based, aerial, and ground-based approaches
- Assess the role of regulatory bodies and industry standards organizations
- Benchmark against common guidelines and best practices
- Enhance reliability by combining data from different sources
- Overcoming the lack of ground-based wind speed measurements
Track A - Operations
10:50 am - 11:20 am Catalyzing Emissions Reduction: LiDAR Insight Into Gas Plumes Ryan Stewart - VP of Sales, Bridger Photonics- Leverage LiDAR for precise emissions detection and reliable leak identification
- Strategically prioritize and optimize repair programs
- Evaluate the ROI and long-term benefits of LiDAR technology
Track A - Operations
11:20 am - 11:50 am The White Elephant: Beyond Oil & Gas - Biogenic & Low-Level Methane Emissions Dr. Michael Schuppenhauer - Principal Investigator, Affiliate, Berkeley Lab- Oil & Gas is responsible for significant methane leakages estimated to be 4.2% of total US GHG emissions in 2022 and has been singled out with regulations to measure and mitigate those.
- Yet, the two key other emitting sources are biogenic in nature, i.e. agricultural and waste emissions, constituting at least 60% of total methane emissions, mainly from dairy/ruminants, rice cultivation, and landfills. However, those emissions are, much like other low-level emissions, not tractable for current measurement technologies at scale, as they do not come with thermal signatures or in amounts large enough to reach sensitivity levels of IR camera or satellite levels in kg to ton per hour range.
- While there are stationary eddy covariance systems capable of measuring these irregular, low-level, areal methane emissions, they are not mobile, cheap or scalable to capture the vast remaining 2/3 of methane emissions, including pipelines, wells or instrument leaks below detection levels.
- Combining heavy-lift NDAA-compliant drones with an ultra-lightweight mid-infrared sensor is striking a compromise between sensitivity, accuracy, and scale through mobility to reach beyond large point-emitters and reach the vastly larger pool of many small point and area sources that emit below kg/h down to less than 1/10th of a g per h.
Track B - Strategy
10:10 am - 10:50 am Proactive Strategy vs Reactive Response: Leadership for Low Carbon Transformation Saamir Elshihabi - Senior Vice President, OxyKristin Tatum - Vice President, Finance, ESG & Air Permitting and Compliance, Kinder Morgan
Juan Campos - Vice President HSE & Sustainability, California Resources Corporation
Missi Currier - President & CEO, New Mexico Oil & Gas Association
This executive panel will converge executives from leading oil and gas organizations to discuss the strategic imperative of methane reduction. Join us as we explore actionable strategies to align with global commitments and fortify long-term methane reduction. Our panellists will discuss how to:
- Incorporate methane reduction into corporate and long-term sustainability strategies
- Optimize strategies to meet and drive global reduction targets
- Leverage collaboration to accelerate methane reduction efforts
- Evaluate investment in in-house research and technology development projects
- Strategize ways to find alignment between long-term investment in technology and rapidly changing regulation
Track B - Strategy
10:50 am - 11:20 am Transforming Emissions Detection and Management: A Strategic Blueprint for Efficiency and Compliance Burt Stringer - Vice President, Emissions Remote Monitoring & Management,, Cimarron- Hear first-hand how Cimarron has supported a client in crafting a holistic emissions management strategy that enhances production, reduces costs, and lowers environmental impact
- Explore how advanced visual automation and real-time monitoring enable proactive management of emissions, reducing operational risks and enabling remote oversight
- Learn how to strategically integrate advanced data analytics and emissions management into operational workflows to optimize equipment performance while maintaining regulatory compliance
Track B - Strategy
11:20 am - 11:50 am A Top-down and Bottom-up Approach to Driving a culture of emission reduction: A Seneca Resources Story Teresa Buckingham - Manager, EHSQ & Sustainability, Seneca Resources Company- Best-practice in building a corporate emissions profile and assessing methane intensity
- Using data to implement actionable strategies and methane target setting
- Achieving buy-in from both Senior Executives and Operational Teams
- The benefits of commitment to national/global reduction initiatives and voluntary reporting programs
Track C - Regulation
10:10 am - 10:50 am What’s next for America? Methane Mitigation Post Election Kyle Danish - Partner, Van Ness Feldman- What is the outlook for methane mitigation – for this year and beyond?
- Ensure critical oversight of the policy agendas of the incoming administration
- Prepare for how regulatory changes could affect operations, compliance, and investment decisions
- Ensure both energy security and sustainability
- Prioritize the implementation of coherent and robust policies
- Examine the balance between federal and state-level methane regulation under different political landscapes
Track C - Regulation
10:50 am - 11:20 am A Technology Driven Approach to New Methane Regulations Will Foiles - Co-Founder & CEO, Project Canary- Explore regulatory fundamentals and practical risk mitigation strategies
- Optimize technology matrices to mitigate WEC risks and streamline cost
- Evaluate methane monitoring requirements, leveraging continuous monitors and advanced technologies
Track C - Regulation
11:20 am - 11:50 am New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: Collaboration for a Cleaner State Catherine Dickert - Director of Mineral Resources, New York State Department of Environmental ConservationOna Papageorgiou - Chief, Mobile Source & Climate Change Planning, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Since August of 2022, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has received over $58mm in funding through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act to properly plug and abandon oil and gas wells thereby reducing methane emissions from these sources. This work adds to New York’s extensive efforts in reducing methane emissions via NY’s own 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. This session will provide insight into the cross-departmental collaboration, frameworks, and methodologies that have been developed to drive state-wide emissions reductions.
Catherine Dickert
Director of Mineral ResourcesNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Ona Papageorgiou
Chief, Mobile Source & Climate Change PlanningNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation
11:50 am - 1:10 pm
Networking Lunch
1:50 pm - 2:30 pm
Addressing the US Regulatory Landscape: Achievements, Implications, and The Way Forward
Rebecca Denney -
Director of ESG and Regulatory Policy,
American Exploration & Production Council
Georges Tijbosch - CEO, MiQ
Missi Currier - President & CEO, New Mexico Oil & Gas Association
Ben Carlisle - Manager, Environmental Compliance and Permitting, Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline
This panel will convene key industry associations and operator voices to deliver clear, actionable compliance strategies and elucidate the operational ramifications of current regulations from the EPA, BLM, and PHMSA. The panellists will:
- Identify the operational and compliance requirements of current regulations
- Discuss technological advancements and operational implications to meet the new regulatory standards
- Streamline processes for incorporating advanced technology into regulatory requirements
- Address areas of contention in relation to incorporating company-specific, advanced technology measurements into GHGRP Subpart W
- Financial risks and opportunities: assessing the costs of implementation, potential revenue streams from emissions reduction and market shifts
- Staying competitive while ensuring compliance
- Navigate the lack of compatibility between EU and US regulation
Rebecca Denney
Director of ESG and Regulatory PolicyAmerican Exploration & Production Council
Ben Carlisle
Manager, Environmental Compliance and PermittingSouthern Star Central Gas Pipeline
2:20 pm - 3:00 pm
Constructing Measurement-Informed Emissions Inventories
Jennifer Huffhines -
Environmental & Air Manager,
Gulfport Energy
B.J. Carney - Vice President Geoscience & Innovation, Northeast Natural Energy LLC
Angela Zivkovich - Air Policy Manager, Oxy
Will Foiles - Co-Founder & CEO, Project Canary
The construction of robust measurement-informed emissions inventories, based on empirical data, has high internal importance in allowing informed decisions to be made and prioritize reduction efforts. In addition to this, the Inflation Reduction Act now applies a methane fee to oil and gas operators that is a function of site-level emission estimates, creating a multi-faceted driver to perfect practices. Join us to discuss how to:
- Build a reliable, digitally quantified, and verified emissions profile
- Optimize asset grade data for reporting, increasing consumer and investor transparency
- Leverage high-frequency data for reconciliation of bottom-up and top-down inventories at site level
- Prioritize the contextualisation of data, including weather conditions
- Understand the wider importance of measurement-informed inventories in global differentiated gas market and US export capacity
- Reduce risk by validating the methane intensity of operations
3:00 pm - 3:45 pm
Solution Spotlight Session
Step into the dynamic world of our Solution Spotlight Session, where innovation meets opportunity! This is your chance to engage directly with leading solution providers and uncover how their cutting-edge technologies can revolutionize your operations. In this fast-paced session, you’ll have 5 minutes at each booth to dive into the specifics of each solution, ask pressing questions, and discover tailored benefits for your operational setting. Make the most of your time out of the office by gaining actionable insights that you can bring back to your team, ready to implement and drive real change.
3:45 pm - 4:15 pm
Methane Emissions from Orphaned Wells in the United States: Quantities, Impacts, and Solutions
Rand Gardner -
Project Chief & Supervisory Geologist,
Central Energy Resources Science Center, The United States Geological Survey/ US Department of the Interior
The largest orphaned well methane emission measurement database to date has been compiled from thousands of orphaned wells recently plugged with Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Orphaned Wells Program Office. Analysis of this dataset reveals a surprising magnitude of methane emissions from orphaned wells and alludes to a substantial impact of these emissions on society and the environment. The Orphaned Wells Program Office will continue to eliminate methane emissions from orphaned wells through grant programs that empower states, tribes, and federal agencies to plug orphaned wells and remediate the land around them.
Rand Gardner
Project Chief & Supervisory GeologistCentral Energy Resources Science Center, The United States Geological Survey/ US Department of the Interior
4:15 pm - 5:00 pm
Banking on Sustainability: The Role of Financial Institutions in Methane Mitigation
Navishka Pandit -
Assistant Manager, Stewardship and Engagement,
EOS at Federated Hermes
Andrew Howell - Head of Research, Sustainable Finance, Environmental Defense Fund
Tim Youmans - Executive Director of Engagement, Calvert Research and Management
In the United States, sustainable investment has become imperative, driven by the urgent need to address climate change. Supported by initiatives such as the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) And Climate Action 100+, the private sector is quickly realizing its pivotal role in supporting the evolution of transparent emissions data and driving emissions reduction. With an estimated $100 billion of investment required by 2030 for effective methane abatement, there is an urgent need for alignment between financial institutions and industry strategies. This panel will bring together leading U.S. banks to discuss their approach to methane abatement within the oil and gas industry. Our panellists will:
- Discuss the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and the PCAF Standard –how does this allow for science-based targets?
- Explore why some institutions are choosing not to use the PCAF standard
- Examine how investors perceive methane emissions mitigation not merely as a risk management strategy but as an avenue to unlock hidden value and promote long-term sustainability
- Discuss what companies can do to restore confidence in emissions reporting and mitigation plans and what investors regard as best practice
- Explore what methane data investors are using today, and what will they require in future
- Highlight the potential merits of the clean energy financing ratio shareholder proposal and how it ties into upcoming CSRD disclosures
5:00 pm - 5:30 pm
An Overview of the Integrated Methane Monitoring Platform Extension Project (IMMPE): The Playbook for Net Zero Goals
Erin Jedlikowski -
Manager, AMLD Technology & Emissions,
Piedmont Natural Gas
- Improving the accurate detection and quantification of methane leaks across various asset classes of the natural gas value chain, from upstream production and gathering to midstream transmission and storage to downstream distribution and customer use
- Test innovative technologies (top-down, continuous monitoring & handheld sensors) and methods for measuring and reducing methane emissions from natural gas systems, from both fugitive leak sources and intermittent venting
- Educating regulators and stakeholders on the value and benefits of methane monitoring and management programs
- Providing a template and recommendations for methane emissions monitoring and reduction that can be replicated by other entities across the natural gas value chain
