REGIONAL UPDATE
As of 30 June, Houston has vaccinated about 70% of its population. Businesses are open, and the mask mandate has lifted. We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation and look forward to the further opening of the city.
Like many companies, organisations and trade associations around the world, the EIC embraced technology at the start of the pandemic and has now most recently delivered for the second time, virtually, one of its biggest events: The Energy Exports Conference. In June, the EIC’s North and Central America offices had the pleasure of hosting three international delegations with concentration on offshore wind, oil and gas, and carbon capture in the United States.
During each of our three sessions we had the pleasure of hosting industry experts, and this year we had the honour of welcoming: Amanda Lefton, Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM); Martin Jr Tremblay, Offshore Wind Lead, USA, Arup; Sy Oytan, Deputy CEO, Vineyard Wind; Scott Hamilton, Renewables Division Manager, Xodus Group; Kristy Bellows, Vice President, Upstream/Midstream Sector Leader, Worley; David Nguyen, CP Manager – Permian Projects, Shell; Jane Stricker, Senior Relationship Manager, Regions, Cities & Solution, bp; Nick Fulford, Senior Director, Energy Transition, Gaffney, Cline & Associates; and Jarad Daniels, Director, Office of Strategic Planning, Analysis, and Engagement, US Department of Energy (DOE). With a distinguished group of panellists in attendance, each session proved to be fruitful and informative with high delegate participation and conversations ranging from the Biden administration’s role in achieving net-zero, to key barriers to at-scale deployment for US offshore wind and CCUS.
On 22 June the EIC partnered with BMT to deliver ‘Weathering the Storm: Preparing for and addressing the impacts of worst-case scenarios’. During this event, we welcomed speakers from BMT, Shell and Spire Engineering who discussed the importance of accurate damage assessment, remediation and the role of modern technology in preparedness plans. It was clear that remote operations and data are at the centre of ensuring health and safety and asset integrity while deterring costly downtime.
Lastly, in partnership with the British Chamber of Commerce in Mexico (BritChaM), the EIC welcomed Rafael Daryanani, President Energy Group, BritChaM to our Houston Coffee Break series. During the live webinar, both Rafael and I highlighted the fantastic benefits available to EIC and BirtChaM members by way of our MoU, and a deep dive on the recent election results in Mexico and what that means for the energy sector and foreign investment in the country.
Amanda Duhon | Regional Director, North & Central America | amanda.duhon@the-eic.com