Who’s who of energy business set to meet in Houston

Chief executives and other senior leaders of the world’s major energy-producing companies will be among the speakers at this year’s CERAWeek conference.

CERAWeek, organized by IHS Markit, is one of the most eminent annual international gatherings of energy industry players which will be held from March 6 – 10 at the Hilton Americas in Houston, Texas.

IHS Markit announced on Thursday a list of the most prominent speakers which will be featured at CERAWeek 2017.

The list includes some of the biggest names in the energy business including Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, president and group CEO of Petronas; Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni; Robert Dudley, group chief executive of BP; Patrick Pouyanné, chairman of the board and CEO of Total; Eldar Saetre, CEO of Statoil; and John Watson, chairman and CEO of Chevron.

The remaining speakers on the list include other big names like José Antonio González Anaya, CEO of Pemex; Harold Hamm, chairman and CEO of Continental Resources; John Hess, CEO of Hess; Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental; Ryan Lance, chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips; Robert Lawler, president and CEO of Chesapeake; Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company; Pedro Parente, president of Petrobras; Alexander Medvedev, deputy chairman of the management committee at Gazprom; Bryan Sheffield, chairman and CEO of Parsley Energy; Scott Sheffield, executive chairman and CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources; Al Walker, chairman and CEO of Anadarko; and Jeffrey Ventura, chairman, president and CEO of Range Resources.

Daniel Yergin, conference chair and vice chairman of IHS Markit, said: “We are pleased to count such a distinguished group of industry leaders among those who will share their knowledge and insight at CERAWeek 2017. Their experience and foresight will be an important contribution to the critical issues that will be at the forefront at this year’s CERAWeek.”

The 36th annual CERAWeek is held under the slogan “Pace of Change: Building a New Energy Future” and will focus on the changing market at a time of turbulence and uncertainty. The program will examine new forces at work, explore the strategies to meet competitive dynamics and the impact of technology, government policies, and the global economy.

Apart from those listed, IHS already confirmed that Khalid A Al-Falih, minister of energy, industry and mineral resources of Saudi Arabia and board chairman at Saudi Aramco, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, secretary general of OPEC, and Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency would address the delegates at the conference.

A total of 15 energy ministers, 10 CEOs of international oil companies, 12 CEOs of power and renewable companies, and 15 CEOs of global technology companies will be speakers at the 2017 edition of CERAWeek.

As far as the discussion topics are concerned, one of the key ones to be discussed at this year’s CERAWeek will be the oil industry in transition. Delegates will also discuss the U.S. energy policy in the Trump Era, climate policy, future of the upstream business, natural gas, and autos and oil – the changing face of demand.