Europe and the Clash of the Natural Gas Titans

LONDON, June 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The dominant European gas player, Russia, is serious about maintaining its position. Last week, David Campbell, President of BP Russia and Igor Sechin, Chief Executive Officer at Rosneft signed final binding agreements to conduct joint explorations in East and West Siberia. At the same St. Petersburg conference rumours were rife that Russian President Vladimir Putin himself would try to persuade European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker of the viability of Nord Stream 2. The expansion project, led by European heavyweights such as Gazprom, Germany's Uniper and BASF, Engie, Shell and OMV is meeting strong resistance from a number of CEE countries who signed an open letter earlier this year objecting to Russia's energy dominance in the region.

Meanwhile, prior to these high-level meetings in St. Petersburg, senior officials including Greek premier Alexis Tsipras and European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič inaugurated the rival Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in Thessaloniki, Greece, last month. VP Šefčovič has positioned TAP as "true diversification" of energy supply in bringing natural gas from new regions through the Southern Gas Corridor in alliance with his Energy Security Package.

The consequent clash of strategies and vibrancy of new projects is making the entire European continent one of the most dynamic gas markets in the world today. Europe's longest running premier gas event, the European Autumn Gas Conference, will analyse, assess and debate the ramifications of these market dynamics at The Hague's historic World Forum venue in the Netherlands. From November 14^th-16^th the EAGC will deliver both the Traders Day and Main Conference programs to debate critical issues and challenge ideas on natural gas trading, security of supply, demand advocacy and building new markets following COP-21.

Leading European gas perspectives will be heard from: Marjan van Loon, President - Director, Shell Netherlands; Keith Martin, Chief Commercial Officer, Uniper SE; Didier Holleaux, Group Executive Vice President, ENGIE; Laurent Vivier, President Gas, Total; Catherine MacGregor, President Europe & Africa, Schlumberger; Philippe Vedrenne, Chief Executive Officer, ENGIE Global Markets; Alex Barnes, Head of Regulatory Affairs, Gazprom Marketing & Trading; Gertjan Lankhorst, Chief Executive Officer, GasTerra and many others. Bringing together all key stakeholders including gas suppliers, TSOs, regulators, policy makers, commercial executives and industry consultants, EAGC 2016 will provide an unrivalled platform for the strategic roadmap to a diverse, secure natural gas future for Europe as a whole. Comprehensive updates can be found at: http://www.theeagc.com