CERAWeek Podcast with Atul Arya

President-elect Biden will assume office on January 20 with an ambitious domestic policy agenda and an eagerness to engage with the world, while facing with the challenges of a divided electorate and a country and economy that carry the burdens of a nearly year-long pandemic. In this CERAWeek Conversation, leading experts on the economy, global energy, and international relations assess the outlook for the Biden Administration at home and abroad. Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor International Affairs, Harvard University, Atul Arya, Chief Energy Strategist, IHS Markit, and Nariman Behravesh, Chief Economist, IHS Markit, navigate an important and multi-dimensional discussion on the path forward for President-elect Biden, from economic stimulus to climate change, energy policy, trade, China, and American leadership in the world.

Vicki Hollub, president and chief executive of Occidental Petroleum, joins IHS Markit Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin to discuss the changing landscape for upstream operators brought on by market conditions and the movement toward lower carbon, net-zero economies. Hollub examines operational efficiencies for shale production, potential industry consolidation, and Oxy’s shift towards becoming an integrated “carbon management” company that is pursuing technological innovations in direct air capture and other lower carbon initiatives.

How industries and economies provide the world with more energy while reducing emissions is one of the most fundamental challenges of the energy transition. The path to addressing it is rooted in technology and innovation. Join this CERAWeek Conversation as the technology heads of ADNOC and PETRONAS examine the strategies, innovations, and operational efficiencies that are tackling this dual challenge.

Achieving net-zero carbon emissions is the most fundamental – and difficult – task to stabilize the climate. Leaders from government, industry, and academia debate the enormity of the challenge, from the aggressive innovations required to the policies that create market opportunities for carbon removal technologies.

Small, landlocked, and surrounded by other developing countries. Rwanda has aims for growth, overcoming any geographic limitations to transform its economy. In this CERAWeek Conversation, Claver Gatete, Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure, discusses the continental trade agenda, investments in universal energy access, and the country’s comparative advantage in financial services that are driving Rwanda towards a more prosperous future.

The development of Egypt’s abundant gas reserves has had profound impacts on its domestic energy strategy and geopolitical positioning. H.E. Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Egypt, explores the transformation that is underway in the country: The implementation of an integrated gas strategy, an agenda to diversify and decarbonize, regional energy dynamics in the eastern Mediterranean, ambitions to become an energy trading hub, and more.

As the world recovers from a global pandemic, questions abound regarding decarbonization efforts that are often considered costly. However, electric vehicle sales have proven more resilient than their internal combustion engine counter parts. Auto industry leaders discuss in this CERAWeek Conversation the opportunities and challenges that the light vehicle market is expected to face over the coming years. Alex Keros, Lead Architect of EV Infrastructure at GM, and Reinhard Fischer, Senior Vice President of Strategy at the Volkswagen Group North America, examine sales trends and market momentum for EVs, the pace of EV infrastructure build, and company strategies to navigate public policies for transportation and mobility.

Gas industry stakeholders deconstruct renewable natural gas and examine its potential to contribute to a low carbon energy system. Morgan D. Bazilian, Director of the Payne Institute and Professor of Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Tanya Peacock, Manager of Public Policy and Planning, SoCalGas, and Richard Meyer, Managing Director, Energy Analysis, Markets, and Standards, American Gas Association, discuss RNG’s associated costs, emerging strategies for wider RNG deployment, and opportunities to advance hydrogen technologies.

The energy industry is at a critical juncture as it evolves to reduce emissions, increase efficiencies, adopt new technologies, and provide the goods, services, and materials for a sustainable future. What role can digitalization play in facilitating this transformation? In this CERAWeek Conversation, Aspentech President and CEO Antonio Pietri discusses the possibilities that digitalization can usher in for the energy future. He shares insights on the emissions reduction, the circular economy, financial prudence and sustainability, and new industrial plants of the future.

Charif Souki, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of Tellurian, assesses the state of LNG in 2020 and examines the developments that are shaping the industry over the long-term. Is the natural gas trade converging into a single global market? Which projects and suppliers are best positioned to dominate market share? What will be the profile of the next wave of U.S. LNG projects? Will LNG broker a detente between the U.S. and China? In this CERAWeek Conversation with IHS Markit Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin, Souki explores these issues and discusses the future of LNG.