The World Shale Gas Conference and Exhibition recognised as the premier international shale gas event for the industry

Building on last year’s success, the 2nd Annual World Shale Gas Conference & Exhibition 2011, co-hosted by CWC, the American Gas Association and the International Gas Union, took place from the 7-11 November in Houston, Texas. The event attracted over 600 senior level attendees from over 30 countries.
Over the course of the three day conference, delegates heard from leading companies from around the world. Discussions focused on the global gas market, environmental issues, new technologies, and the possibility of launching globally the shale revolution.

As part of Chesapeake’s efforts to develop a ‘natural gas highway,’ the company’s CEO, Aubrey McClendon, announced at the conference that they are aiming to get 16,000,000 natural gas vehicles on the road by 2035.

Environmental issues took centre stage throughout the conference, and were discussed at length by Mark Boling from Southwestern Energy and Scott Anderson from the Environmental Defence fund during an onstage interview. Amongst other issues, they discussed the need for companies to communicate with the public and spread information to educate local communities.

Addressing some of the concerns surrounding water use in shale gas production, Robert Lestz, Chief Technology Officer at GasFrac Energy Services, presented the company’s ‘water-less’ LPG fracturing technology which attracted great interest from the international companies.
The World Shale Gas Awards, presented on the 9 November, recognised the importance of community engagement and technological innovation in the shale gas industry. Three awards were presented at a dinner hosted by BHP Billiton: the Technological Innovator award went to GasFrac Energy Services; the Community Engagement award went to Talisman Energy; and the International Pioneer award went to 3Legs Resources.

Although natural gas was the focus of the conference, many companies expressed their interest in shale oil projects. Tomas Garcia Blanco, Upstream Executive Director from Argentina’s YPF, discussed the huge potential of the Neuquen Basin, where 927 million barrels of shale oil were recently discovered, and said he expects the full potential of Vaca Muerta shale oil & gas plays to be revealed within the next 18 months.

Tomas Garcia Blanco commented, “It has been a privilege for us to use the World Shale Gas event as the platform to communicate the recent discoveries and potential shale developments in Argentina to a global audience under one roof. This is the event to listen and learn what is happening in the shale industry globally.”

As the industry appears to be shifting its focus from gas to oil, there are still major challenges ahead facing the shale producers, within the US and internationally. The World Shale Conference & Exhibition 2012 looks forward to continuing to provide a forum for the industry to discuss these challenges, as well as the many opportunities for shale development worldwide.

The World Shale Gas Conference & Exhibition is organised by The CWC Group, an award-winning company which specialises in energy and infrastructure, developing knowledge, creating commercial opportunities and strategic solutions for government and industry by offering professional training, conferences and exhibitions.

Gustavo Aranda
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UK

This release was published on openPR.