Pipeline Executives to Review Billions in New Construction Plans at P&GJ’s Pipeline Opportunities Conference

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than 20 leading energy executives from North and South America will provide the latest information on tens of billions of dollars in planned new oil and gas pipeline construction at the 4^th Annual Pipeline Opportunities Conference March 25 at the Houston Hyatt Regency.

“No doubt about it, it’s an exciting time to be in the pipeline business”

Sponsored by Pipeline & Gas Journal and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, (INGAA), the conference will focus on the unprecedented “boom” now under way in the industry as well as the growing number of challenges facing pipeline operators and service companies.

Conference chairman Jeff Share, Editor of Pipeline & Gas Journal, said pipeliners are unanimous about the business opportunities in North America as petroleum supplies seek to keep up with demand. Yet with a teetering economy that threatens to dry up badly needed investment capital, workforce and equipment shortages, increased regulatory mandates and traditional public opposition to new infrastructure projects or expansions, the challenges are also equal to the opportunities, Share said.

Following an opening address by keynote speaker Norm Szydlowski, president and CEO of Colonial Pipeline Co., the nation’s largest operator of oil products, executives from Enbridge Pipelines, TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline project, and Magellan Midstream Partners of Tulsa will discuss business opportunities in the burgeoning liquids pipeline sector. Mike Mears, Senior VP of Magellan, is also chairman of the Association of Oil Pipelines and is leading research into the transportation of ethanol.

Brad Kamph, a consultant who just completed a groundbreaking study on workforce issues in the pipeline industry for INGAA, will share his findings in a roundtable discussion along with prominent pipeline contractor David Sheehan, Bechtel executive Jerry Fee, and others.

A session called “Painting Your Pipeline Green” will explain how companies such as El Paso and GE Oil & Gas have successfully exploited increased opportunities in the environmental arena.

In the afternoon, executives from six natural gas transmission companies - El Paso Corp., Spectra Energy, Energy Transfer Partners, Kern River, Kinder Morgan, Southern Union Co., will discuss their planned and ongoing pipeline projects as well as define the forces that are driving the industry.

Executives from Petrobras, Brazil’s national energy company, will close out the program with an extended discussion on their $10 billion pipeline portfolio over the next five years; their expertise on transporting ethanol, and their latest technological advances.

Share said Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may speak about new developments regarding the North Slope natural gas pipeline.

“No doubt about it, it’s an exciting time to be in the pipeline business,” Share said, “but you need a strong stomach, the ability to be flexible, and know how to negotiate. That’s true whether you’re involved in operations, the EPC sector, or a vendor. After the shakeout of recent years, those surviving companies actually do have a good handle on the business. It’s a good thing, too, because all indications are that this boom cycle is going to last for a good number of years.”

Because of limited seating capacity, the conference is expected to sell out so early registration is suggested either online at www.pgjonline.com or by contacting conference manager Karen Francis at 281-558-6930 x 222. A limited number of rooms are available by calling 713-654-1234 or 800-233-1234. Ask for the Pipeline Opportunities Conference rate of $169.

Sponsors include Business Wire; SMU's Maguire Energy Institute; Global Energy Management Institute, University of Houston; El Paso Corp.; EMS Group; CAT PipeLine Machinery; Quorum Business Solutions, Inc.; Gulf Interstate Engineering; U.S. Pipeline, Inc.; John Deere; Bredero Shaw; Mears; GE Oil & Gas; The Bayou Companies; SensorTran; URS; Welded; SensorTran; Great Ideas Company, and Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce.