Analysis

MPGC 2022 on schedule for January 2022 launch, says organiser Conference Connection

Middle East Petroleum Gas Conference (MPGC) to take place on 24-25 January 2022 in Kingdom of Bahrain; more than 30 key speakers to address ten sessions.

Published

3 years ago

December 7, 2021

Admin

The 29th annual Middle East Petroleum Gas Conference (MPGC) event is scheduled to take place on 24-25 January 2022 in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

MPGC 2022 official opening and ministerial address by His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Minister of Oil, Kingdom of Bahrain commencing at 09:00 am on 24 January.
More than 30 key speakers to address ten sessions on 24 and 25 January including MPGC 2022 Crystal Ball, Keynote Addresses, All-Star Analysts Panel, MPGC Hard Talk, Refining and Natural Gas Trading.
Bapco, Saudi Aramco and Vitol to host Official Functions at MPGC 2022.
MPGC 2022 Agenda to include first time session on “Future Fuels & Energy Transition” on January 25.

Jointly hosted by Ministry of Oil, The Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) and nogaholding, the 29th Annual Middle East Petroleum & Gas Conference (MPGC 2022) to be held in the Kingdom of Bahrain, is rapidly gathering steam with the participation of super major CEOs, top Wall Street analysts, oil and gas visionaries, global traders, refiners and other industry specialists.

MPGC will commence on 24 January with the official opening, to be graced by His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Minister of Oil, Kingdom of Bahrain, with the presence of His Excellency Abdulla Jehad Al Zain, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Dr. Abdulrahman Jawahery, CEO of Bapco.

The opening session will feature the eagerly awaited annual MPGC 2022 Crystal Ball to be followed by Keynote Addresses on the Energy Markets delivered by Mr. Alan Haywood, BP plc’s SVP for ESG transformation, TOTSA TotalEnergie’s Head of Trading and Shipping, Mr. Thomas Waymel and Vitol Asia’s President, Mr. Mike Muller.

Official functions hosted by sponsors, including lunch by Saudi Aramco, coffee breaks by Vitol, the Bapco Gala Dinner and numerous hospitality suites, will provide extended opportunities for one to one and group networking in one location for all stakeholders, anxious to catch up with industry contacts, to resume business discussions and interactions, which are disrupted and long delayed by the pandemic.

The overarching MPGC 2022 theme “Diverse Perspectives: Transitioning Towards a Carbon Constrained World” will find its way into ten agenda sessions, including a first-time panel on Future Fuels and Energy Transition.

A luncheon Address by Mr. Ahmed Al-Subaey, Vice President of Marketing, Sales & Supply Planning of Saudi Aramco on 24 January will also highlight how Saudi Aramco will position itself for sustainable value and success in a carbon constrained world.

The path-breaking MPGC “All-Star” Analysts Panel with the global heads of research of leading commodity houses, will be repeated by popular demand, on the MPGC 2022 agenda, with Dr. Jeffrey R. Currie of Goldman Sachs International, Dr. Edward L. Morse of Citigroup and Dr. Paul Horsnell of Standard Chartered.

The closing session for day one will be the one not to be missed “MPGC Hard Talk and Dialogue” on the Middle East pricing and trading transformation with oil and product traders from Bapco, ICE, Vitol and the DME.

The day’s sessions will culminate with the MPGC 2022 Gala Dinner, hosted by Bapco.

Discussions on liquefied natural gas (LNG) Trading, the Refining Landscape, and the first-time panel on Energy Transition, which will address the prospects for the oil and gas ecosystem shifting to a lower carbon future, will continue on Day Two, January 25 with the participation of ADNOC LNG, Shell LNG Marketing, BP IST Middle East, TotalEnergies Gas & Power, Cheniere Marketing, Bapco, Tecnicas Reunidas, Samsung Engineering, Technip Energies and Vitol.

Co-Hosts Bapco will take a high profile over both days of MPGC 2022, with Mr. Hafedh Al Qassab, Acting Deputy CE Co-Chairing with Dr. Fereidun Fesharaki, participation by Shaikh Ebrahim Bin Khalid Al-Khalifa, Head of Business Development, Marketing Division and Mr. Khalid Buhazza, General Manager Marketing on the MPGC International Advisory Committee and other speakers and chairs on the Trading, Refining and Future Fuels Panels, including Mr. Irfanullah Khan, Risk Manager, Lead Marketing.

Commenting on the significance of the timing, Dr. Fereidun Fesharaki, Co-Chairman MPGC 2022 and Chairman of FGE said: “This is an exceptional environment in the oil and gas industry, where COP26 seemed to want to see the end of fossil fuels, whilst oil and gas prices have reached historical highs and refining margins made great gains.”

“This shows that despite the politically inspired wish to bring fossil fuels to an end, the demand side remains robust and the transition will be slow and challenging. Oil and gas is a huge business and it cannot simply be switched off. Oil demand will peak in the 2030’s but gas demand will be unlikely to peak before the late 2040’s. Until then the decline in demand will be extremely slow.

“The energy transition will need to take into account the realities of demand and the needs for economic growth in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. MPGC 2022 will provide the framework for all key players in the oil and gas business, to discuss the evolving strategies, commercial realities and the investment decisions that need to be made to achieve this”

MPGC 2022 has received outstanding support from leading oil market brands as sponsors, with Chevron and S&P Global Platts as platinum sponsors and Bapco, ICE, Kpler, Saudi Aramco, Samsung Engineering, Shell, Technip Energies, Tecnicas Reunidas, Uniper and Vitol as corporate sponsors. More than 450 global brands have supported MPGC in its 29-year history.

The 2022 event is also supported by the Bahrain-based Gulf Downstream Association and Middle East Gases Association (MEGA).

A spokesperson from Conference Connection, organisers for MPGC said: “Wide participation is expected from key oil trading and producing destinations in the Gulf, and MENA, Europe, the Americas and Asia at MPGC 2022, which will be one of the oil industry’s first in-person events in 2022.”

“MPGC 2022 sessions will be delivered over two-days on 24-25 January in both roundtable discussion panels and presentations, with other pre and post executive briefings on oil and gas, as well as training courses and site visits on oil trading, refining and blending, spread over MPGC Week 2022 from 22-27 January, 2022.”

MPGC Week 2022, running from 22 – 27 January, 2022 will bring together five executive briefings, courses and technical workshops, with MPGC as the anchor event for the week.

The activities will run back-to-back in one location within the week, delivering extensive learning, knowledge sharing and networking opportunities to the MPGC community.

Photo credit: Conference Connection
Published: 7 December, 2021

Research

Yamna identifies five potential global ammonia bunkering hubs

Unlike methanol, ammonia is not constrained by biogenic CO2 availability, and its production process is relatively simple.

Published

4 months ago

December 31, 2024

Admin

Specialised green hydrogen and derivatives platform Yamna in early December identified several potential ammonia bunkering hubs around the world.

The hubs are Port of Rotterdam, Port of Algeciras, Suez Canal, Jurong Port, and Port of Salalah.

“The shipping industry faces an ambitious challenge: reducing emissions by 20% by 2030 (compared to 2008 levels) and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, in alignment with IMO targets,” it stated.

“Achieving these goals in the medium to long term depends on the adoption of alternative low-emission fuels like green ammonia and methanol.

“Among these, ammonia is attracting growing interest as a viable option. Unlike methanol, it is not constrained by biogenic CO2 availability, and its production process is relatively simple.”

However, the firm noted kickstarting ammonia bunkering on a large scale required four enablers to align:

Ammonia fuel supply
Application technology
Bunkering infrastructure
Safety guidelines and standards

It believed ammonia bunkering hubs will first emerge where affordable and scalable ammonia supply is available.

Yanma Why use ammonia for bunkering fuel

Photo credit: Yanma
Published: 31 December 2024

Research

Port of Long Beach releases Clean Marine Fuels White Paper

Document intended to prepare and position the port and its stakeholder for adopting low carbon alternative fuels.

Published

4 months ago

December 26, 2024

Admin

Clean Marine Fuels Port of Long Beach (December 2024)

The Port of Long Beach (PLB) in late December released the Clean Marine Fuels White Paper as part of efforts to identify solutions capable of reducing emissions from ships.

“To understand the opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of clean marine fuels, the Port of Long Beach hired ICF Consulting to develop this white paper as an educational resource and guidance document,” stated PLB

“This document is also intended to prepare and position the port and its stakeholder for adopting low carbon alternative fuels.

“The white paper provides high level information on the array of currently available low carbon marine fuels, along with an exploration of the potential infrastructure needs for their deployment.”

The document covers the use of different types of clean bunker fuels such as green hydrogen, green methanol, green ammonia, renewable LNG and biofuels for shipping.

“The shift to clean marine fuels is no longer optional but a necessity for the sustainability of the maritime industry,” stated PLB in its closing remarks.

“This transition, while presenting challenges such as high costs, limited fuel availability, and the need for extensive infrastructure development, is advancing due to evolving policy frameworks and growing industry commitment.

“Addressing these obstacles will require targeted initiatives and robust collaboration between public and private sectors. Continued policy support, government funding, and sustained industry commitment will be essential to driving this progress and ensuring the long-term sustainability of maritime operations.”

Editor’s note: The 123-page Clean Marine Fuels White Paper may be downloaded from the hyperlink here.

Photo credit: Clean Marine Fuels White Paper
Published: 26 December 2024

Port & Regulatory

Clyde & Co: FuelEU Maritime Series – Part 6: Legal issues

Bunker purchasers should consider the wording of their bunker supply contracts carefully and ensure that they are comfortable with the contractual provisions.

Published

4 months ago

December 26, 2024

Admin

Global law firm Clyde & Co on Thursday (19 December) released the final instalment of its six-part series uncovering the FuelEU Maritime Regulation.

In it, the firm looked at the legal issues that could potentially arise between various parties, such as owners, charterers, ship managers, bunker suppliers, and ship builders, as a result of the compliance requirements imposed by the Regulation.

The following is an excerpt from the original article available here:

Bunker supply contracts - legal issues

Both vessel owners and bunker purchasers will want to ensure that they are able to take advantage of the preferential treatment provided under the FuelEU Regulation for consuming renewable fuels, including biofuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) (such as methanol and ammonia).

Article 10 of the FuelEU Regulation states that such fuels must be certified in accordance with the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) 2018/2001. If the fuel consumed by the vessel does not meet the applicable standards or have the appropriate certification, then it “shall be considered to have the same emissions factors as the least favourable fossil fuel pathway for that type of fuel”[1].

In order to confirm that the fuel complies with greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity and sustainability requirements, the vessel owner and bunker purchaser will want to ensure that the bunker supplier provides the appropriate certification required under the FuelEU Regulation. The EU has required certification of such fuels, with the aim of guaranteeing “the environmental integrity of the renewable and low-carbon fuels that are expected to be deployed in the maritime sector.”[2]

The FuelEU Regulation provides that the GHG intensity of fuel is to be assessed on a “well-to-wake” basis, with emissions calculated for the entire lifespan of the fuel, from raw material extraction to storage, bunkering and then use on board the vessel.

Vessel owners and bunker purchasers will, therefore, need to be mindful of the importance of establishing how “green” the fuel actually is, and of the risk of bunker suppliers providing alternative fuels that will not allow for preferential treatment under the FuelEU Regulation.

It would, therefore, be advisable for bunker purchasers to consider whether the wording of their bunkering supply contracts is sufficient to ensure that the fuel is properly certified under the FuelEU Regulation. This could include contractual provisions that require the supplier (i) to provide a bunker delivery note (BDN), setting out the relevant information regarding the supply (such as the well-to-wake emission factor), and (ii) to provide the necessary certification under a scheme recognised by the EU.

Bunker purchasers should also be mindful that bunkering supply contracts often contain short claims notification time bars and provisions restricting claims for consequential loss. Issues could therefore arise where a purchaser tries to advance a claim against the supplier for consequential loss due to a lack of certification, but the bunker supplier argues that such losses are excluded under the terms of the bunker supply contract.

Bunker purchasers should therefore consider the wording of their bunker supply contracts carefully and ensure that they are comfortable with the contractual provisions.

Photo credit: CHUTTERSNAP from Unsplash
Published: 26 December 2024