Second Annual North American Energy Forum

 The Mexico and Canada Institutes of the Woodrow Wilson Center are pleased to invite you to the Second Annual North American Energy Forum.

Over the past year, two new developments have left their mark on North America’s energy markets. The first concerns the impact of low oil prices on the region’s producers, with revenue affecting existing and future projects. Although the low price environment has not resulted in a major drop in production, we have seen a rationalization of existing projects, and a slowdown in the rate of new investment.

 

The low price environment, however, has also been a major driver of technological innovation and cost-reduction for the sector. Particularly in the area of unconventionals, there has been a successful effort to apply technologies and expertise to enhance the productivity of existing wells, and to better identify the best prospects for future drilling.

 

Alongside the issue of price, we have seen major developments in all three North American countries. In Mexico, the first round of oil contracts is underway, with contracts awarded for exploration in shallow water in July of 2015. At the same time, we have seen major new investment plans unveiled in the electricity sector. In Canada, major infrastructure challenges and political change in the province of Alberta have altered the investment environment. In the US, the Interior Department proposal to open a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean to offshore drilling has generated a highly charged debate, and new EPA rules on emissions have been the subject of analysis and legal challenge.

 

Last year’s inaugural North American Energy Forum generated considerable attention and debate and we expect this year’s edition to bring an even higher level of interest. It builds on the work undertaken at the Wilson Center in inspiring a regional take on energy challenges and in generating a long-term vision of the sector.

9:00 am - Welcome

• Duncan Wood, Director, Mexico Institute
• Laura Dawson, Director, Canada Institute, Wilson Center

9:10 am - The Outlook for the Oil and Gas under Low Prices

Moderator:Jan Kalicki, Public Policy Fellow and Energy Lead, Woodrow Wilson Center

Speakers: 

• Marco Antonio Cota Valdivia, Director General of Exploration & Extraction of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Energy
• Sarah Ladislaw, Director and Senior Fellow, Energy and National Security Program, CSIS
• Shirley Neff, Senior Advisor, U.S. Energy Information Administration 
• Duncan Wood, Director, Mexico Institute 

Issues:

• The outlook for North American oil and gas production

• Mexico’s oil and gas reform

• Canada’s oil sands after Keystone and low prices

10:30 am - Keynote Addresses

• Cesar Hernandez Ochoa, Mexican Under-Secretary of Energy for Electricity
• Amos J. Hochstein, Special Envoy, Bureau of Energy Resources 

11:30 am - Coffee and Snack Break

11:45 am - North American Electricity Futures

Moderator:Laura Dawson, Director, Canada Institute

Speakers:

• Patrick Brown,  Director of US Affairs, Canadian Electricity Association
• John Renehan, Director of Strategy, GE Power and Water
• Eduardo Andrade, Corporate Director, Iberdrola Mexico
• Rafael Fernandez, Consultant, Energy and Security Issues
• Henry Gentenaar, Managing Partner,  MegaSolar

Issues:

• The development of Mexico’s electricity market

• Linking the region’s electricity grids and markets

• New technologies and ideas

• Smart grids and distributed generation

1:00 pm - Event Concludes

 

Co-Sponsor: