Energy Capital The Magazine-March-April 2021-Edition 02

FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS, INVESTORS AND INDUSTRIAL USERS MAR-APR 2021, ISSUE 02

• Breaking the Silo Mentality for Capital Project Success • Infrastructure and the challenges of going digital

An energy transition ‑ or a revolution?

• Energy Transition in North America: an overview

• Electric Vehicles: an inflection point by mid-decade?

• Power your Business with Micro-grid Resiliency

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: look for our video interviews

Video Interviews

Energy Capital Magazine OPINION 8 Rubi Alvarado Diversity and inclusion in the energy sector Men have historically led the energy sector. Although things are changing, and women are now more visible, this transformation has to be more emphatic in the energy industry.

10 Aldo Santillan Why does ESG matter?

Many companies and organizations are currently hoisting the ESG flag. While this acronym does not represent a mandate, the benefits of following and embracing it are many.

ANALYSIS

24 Denmon Sigler & Andrew Ketner Factors Affecting the U.S. Push Toward a Green Hydrogen Economy Countries are actively seeking ways to reduce or eliminate carbon from their economies, and many observers see “green” hydrogen as an attractive option— what are the factors affecting its growth in the U.S.?

POWER 28 Bob Slettehaugh Revisiting the potential of carbon capture technologies With regulatory and economic drivers on the horizon, now is the time to revisit the potential of CCUS. A crucial aspect in capitalizing on the benefits will be the ability to expedite the EPC of such systems.

12 Energy Capital An energy transition or a revolution?

While the energy transition is happening, its speed and effectiveness will depend on each country's willingness to reinforce its clean infrastructure further. Therefore, in North America, different paces are evident.

32 Michael Robinson Building Resiliency: The Port of San Diego’s Microgrid Solution Almost every type of organization should consider installing a backup power system that uses a microgrid. In our modern economy, a loss of power causes business activity to grind to an abrupt halt, resulting in significant costs.

18 Ed Brost Oil Price, Electric Vehicles, Transition Could the electric vehicles 'inflection point' be as soon as mid this decade? If so, leaders must decide to stay with past business models or imagine new businesses to address this transformation.

36 Marco Cota & Mike Braun Methane fugitive emissions from public and private perspectives The financial and industrial sectors are increasingly endorsing Net Zero goals.

Furthermore, these goals have public and private interests aligned. However, is this trend a punishment or an incentive?

2

Table of Contents

3

Energy Capital Magazine

UPSTREAM 42 JP Chevrierre The Importance of Top Management in a post shale world Why are the leading Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) and technical service companies not adapting to new realities? The core reason for failure is wrongly structured top management teams and Board of Directors.

DOWNSTREAM 48 Charles Tremblay New biofuel plant featuring Enerkem's unique technology planned in Quebec, Canada In December 2020, Enerkem made public the construction of the Varennes Carbon Recycling plant. This will produce biofuels and renewable chemicals made from non-recyclable residual materials as well as wood waste.

INFRASTRUCTURE 52 Chris Tisdel Innovation and the Art of Taking a Punch In our corporate worlds, "big" typically equates with "cannot fail." As you have been told many times, change is bad.

And yet, change is our only constant. Change is innovation.

4

58 Eric Crivella Digital Project Delivery Construction projects in industrial facilities carry unique risks in terms of complexity, productivity, and safety. Digital construction capabilities enable firms to visualize and predict potential problems before they occur and plan for avoidance in the safety of a virtual environment.

64 Jorge Vanegas Leveraging the Value of Silos in the Capital Projects Industry Silos can have a bad connotation in the AEC industry since they are perceived many times as the cause for slow and onerous procurement processes. However, a good solution could be to accept silos for what they are and represent.

USERS 70 Energy Capital Carbon offsets: compliance or opportunity?

Carbon offsets are creating the most complex commodity market in history and should not be ignored. More importantly, it is crucial to know the factors enabling companies to do this transition.

WOMEN IN ENERGY 76 Donya Mansoubi The Women Behind America’s Largest Solar Energy Center Not only does the 1,300-MW Samson Solar Energy Center breaks industry records (upon completion, it will be America’s largest), but it is also being led by an all-woman team of trailblazers.

INTERVIEW 80 Kymberly Butts 53 Years of Championing Progress in Capital Projects: ECC 1968 – 2021 The Association for the Capital Projects Engineering & Construction Community [ECC] has a rich history of bringing executives and thought leaders together to collaborate in an open and transparent environment.

84 Tom Krikke Hiber Hilo: an innovative solution for remote wellhead monitoring Amsterdam-based Hiber Global has developed a simple, innovative, and affordable solution for remote oil and gas pressure and temperature monitoring at wellheads: the Hiber Hilo.

88 Jorge Vanegas Breaking down the silo mentality: make your capital projects successful In interview with Energy Capital, Jorge Vanegas talks extensively about the importance of breaking down the silo mentality and its implications upon personnel, corporate culture, and productivity.

DOING BUSINESS 92 ISME The First Energy Community Connecting Canada, the United States, and Mexico The US-based nonprofit International Society for Mexico Energy (ISME) recently introduced NorthAmericanEnergy.org, the first online energy community connecting Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

Contact Information MANAGERS Rubi Alvarado General Manager Aldo Santillan Managing Director & Editor in Chief Noe H. Saenz Editorial Board Chairman DESIGN Ignacio Ortiz Art Director

Gonzalo Rivas Senior Designer

Cristian Martinez Digital Strategy

Ivan Ledezma Digital Strategy

EDITORIAL STAFF Ana Tafoya Editorial Team Coordinator Eduardo Medina Editorial Analysis

Energy Capital The Magazine is published

by Capital Media Group LLC © 2020. All rights reserved. Digitalized and distributed

by Capital Media Group LLC. We accept no responsibility in respect of opinions, products or services obtained through advertisements carried in this magazine. www.energycapitalmedia.com

5

Editorial Letter

An Energy Transition – or a Revolution?

Dear Reader Welcome to the March-April 2021 edition of ENERGY CAPITAL THE MAGAZINE. Inside this issue, you'll find business stories and interviews with the ones making things happen in the energy industry. Furthermore, this number includes a key focus on an evolving and currently well-known global trend: the energy transition.

6

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FROM THIS TRANSFORMATION

M

any would agree that the energy transition -which refers to the pathway from a fossil-based global energy sector to a zero-carbon and, accordingly, cleaner one- is currently happening at an increasing and, for some, unstoppable pace.

Although this transformation will undoubtedly impact us all since the planet's survival depends heavily on it, it is reasonable to think that it will have different characteristics depending on the region and country under discussion.

Thus far, this transition has shown it depends considerably on factors such as the previous development of infrastructure and technology, the political and economic interest of governments, companies, and organizations alike, and the material and mental will to build the change.

Considering this transformation’s different paces, where can the wide variety of energy infrastructure developers, investors, and industrial users find the opportunities?

From solar panels and wind turbines to electric vehicle chargers, green hydrogen accessibility, and new methane and carbon emissions surveillance, all interested parties may find attractive, sustainable, and businessreliant opportunities in this transformation.

We understand that making an infrastructure asset means starting a new business from scratch. Consequently, this includes all the challenges related to business development,

project planning, funding, site selection, regulations, project execution, commissioning, operations, local understanding of cultures, and doing business.

For this reason, we believe that the energy industry, crucial in this transition, needs to respond efficiently. Infrastructure -and all supply chains involved- must be ready, adaptable, reliable, resilient, and sustainable.

Besides, cross-sector knowledge will be essential to make companies and professionals much more competitive and adaptable. That's why all energy sectors -power, upstream, midstream, and downstream- should be involved with openness in this process Through your reading, you will find crosssector, and to-the-point content pieces focused on providing you practical information that can be used for business planning, client development, project management, and asset operations.

Inside this issue, you'll also find mainly contributions with a center on North America, covering new business developments, capital trends, technology, and regulations. Finally, we put the spotlight on new and ongoing projects, and on operating infrastructure assets, for you -and your customers- to learn about.

Again, welcome and enjoy the edition! We look forward to helping you succeed and addressing this transition with a creative and more informed focus.

The Energy Capital Team 7

Opinion

Diversity and inclusion in the energy sector

By Rubi Alvarado General Manager, Energy Capital

M

en have historically led the energy sector. In the mid-nineteenth century, in the early years of the modern oil & gas industry, several companies looked after physically resilient and strong people to employ. Accordingly, the nature of these jobs mainly demanded physical-capacity features in their workers.

As a result, several men were hired for arduous physical labor, such as manual drilling and monitoring. They were also occupied as field front-liners (onshore and offshore), frequently under extreme weather conditions.

On the other hand, women were supposed to stay at home doing non-paid caregiving labors – usually seen as non-risky and non-profitable compared to the male-oriented ones.

For women coming from poverty backgrounds, the transition to the industry happened first, but indeed, out of necessity.

8

Events such as economic downturns, wars, and structural male unemployment incentivized this trend.

However, the female entry into the energy labor market didn't translate into companies supporting women with equal parental leave permits or work-life flexibility schemes.

Later on, the lack of access to education and training for women in the industry further elongated this gap.

Compared to men, females could not go to school and freely follow a professional career until not so long ago.

This, joint with a gendered-biased approach in the academic field, where men were supposedly better than women in STEM disciplines, significantly undermined our progress towards reaching leading positions in the sector for several years.

However, and fortunately for us, we are now in the twentyfirst century, with many structural and consciousness

transformations preceding us. The way we work and see most of the industries has changed, and we as women have raised our voices and come together to be more visible and better positioned worldwide.

Nevertheless, this change has to be more emphatic in the energy industry because the challenges are still many. For instance, some disadvantages directly affecting us are the global gender pay gap, the lack of long-term career opportunities and work-life balance schemes, gender disparity in work teams, among several other factors.

Another example is that, nowadays, only a third of North American students in STEM fields and 22% of workers in the oil and gas sector are females. According to experts, if the current inequality rate persists, it will take 70 years to reach parity in the energy sector, even more, to achieve pay parity standards.

I want to emphasize that it is not about fulfilling positions with a specific number of women to cover quotas; we have to be considered for our capacities and job skills, but this won't be possible if we don't have equal access to education, training, mentorship, and fair retributions since our youngest years.

As a proud supporter of all women in the sector, I think it's crucial to keep breaching the gaps and raise female participation visibility in all spheres. Finally, I want to conclude that If we're going to address an energy transition, we should look after diversity and inclusion inside our sector. Transitioning from a female caregiver and male breadwinner model into a more equalitarian one, that's the kind of transformation we're all looking for.

9

Opinion

Why does ESG matter?

By Aldo Santillan Managing Director and Editor in Chief, Energy Capital

M

any companies and organizations are currently hoisting the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) flag.

While this acronym does not represent a legal mandate or binding commitment, the benefits of following and embracing it are many.

According to Fitch Ratings, in 2020, "asset buyers were increasingly selective, and ESG, in particular, seemed to had a great influence on the financing decisions of banks, due to new social and regulatory pressures."

JD SUPRA, a legal expertise media company, also reported that according to an April 2018 survey conducted by State Street Global Advisors, over 80 percent of institutional investors worldwide currently consider ESG components as part of their investment strategies.

10

Among the benefits that ESG implementation brings are the economic and financial ones. For example, as reported by Romain Boscher, CIO for equities at Fidelity International, "companies with the highest ESG ratings collectively outperformed during the pandemic market crash in March and beyond."

In the US, as an example, about a quarter of the assets under management, or roughly $12 trillion, are currently ESG-rated investments.

Moreover, several studies now find a positive relationship between ESG scores on the one hand and financial returns on the other.

Although there are not global ESG specific frameworks, some efforts have been made in achieving so. For instance, we can talk about the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Exposures (TCFD), the SASB standards, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Therefore, a global benchmark to be followed will not take so long to become real.

So, given the fact that ESG is here to stay, where is the energy sector positioned?

Indeed, the energy industry has significant advantages regarding ESG. Accordingly, the sector has been a pioneer in developing ESG principles and implementing some of the best practices derived from them For instance, in the last twenty years, renewable energy companies have led the way in advances in sustainable and environmental technology.

Moreover, in the Oil & Gas sector, exploration, production, and distribution companies are currently leaders in conserving water, reducing

greenhouse gas emissions, and minimizing land disturbance and traffic and noise impacts.

As a result, several energy companies have experience in engaging in activities that comply with these requirements.

Just to mention two cases, the CEO of ConocoPhillips made specific reference last year to the significance of its ESG strategy to its $9.7 billion acquisition of driller Concho Resources.

Similarly, when Pioneer Natural Resources announced its agreement to acquire Parsley Energy in 2020, the press release highlighted sustainable development as one of the transaction's critical strategic and financial benefits.

ESG measures look at carbon dioxide emissions, water management, workforce diversity, wage gaps, human rights, health and safety, community development, ethics, and compliance. Even though our industry is well-prepared in some of those fields, there's still much to be done, so we shouldn't take things for granted.

To conclude, companies should not forget to give proper treatment to the "E," the "S," and the "G," respectively, since each component has proved to be essential. The opportunities are many, and beyond its popularity, the ESG concept reflects a greater insight: it symbolizes what our culture, society, and planet are demanding from us, intensely, nowadays.

11

Analysis

An energy transition or a revolution? Is our infrastructure ready?

By Energy Capital www.energycapitalmedia.com

T

he energy transition has come a long way in just a few years. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2020, net installed global renewable capacity grew by nearly 4%. This growth led to a 7% increase in renewables use for generating electricity; in contrast, fossil fuels plunged to a low record demand of -6.1%.

Besides, renewable energy costs have experienced a substantial and sustained decline globally since 2010, driven mainly by increasing infrastructure additions and technological upgrades. As a result, in 2020,

12

clean energy sources such as solar were labeled as the cheapest forms of electricity in human history by IEA. Therefore, they are projected to supply 90 percent of global electricity demand growth over the next 20 years.

Despite this advance, the challenges are significant. In North America, for instance, the political view upon renewables in terms of generation, transmission/distribution, and storage is not homogeneous; administrations can revoke permits, terminate projects, or cease investments.

Even with rising awareness of the transition’s cruciality, several companies and stakeholders are having to constantly deal with uncertainty.

While the transformation is happening, its speed and effectiveness will depend on each country's willingness to reinforce its clean infrastructure further.

The players in generation Even in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 was a good year for renewables in the United States.

According to IEA, the country outpaced its new renewable energy additions, with an expected additional increase of 30% by 2021.

Data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) shows that, in 2020, renewable energy accounted for 71% of all new utility-scale capacity (14,734 megawatts out of the total 20,803 MW added). Wind energy had a major contribution with 8,042 MW, and solar, with 6,485 MW. Last year was also strong for renewables in Canada. The country ended with a total wind capacity of 13,588 MW, meaning that users covered 67 percent of their electricity demand through renewable energy. According to the Canadian Renewables Association (CanRea), the nation also had 3,000 MW of solar capacity added and significant storage growth.

As a result, projections for 2021 are optimistic.

There are currently at least 240 MW of large-scale solar projects under development and 745 MW of wind projects under construction in Canada. Overall, CanREA expects a total of 2 GW of capacity to be installed in 2021.

In Mexico, according to data from the Energy Secretariat (SENER by its Spanish acronym), the installed capacity is already prepared to generate energy through renewable sources by 31%, spanned between geothermal (1.2%), nuclear (2%), solar (4.3%), wind (7.5%), and hydro (16%).

13

Analysis

Some of the projects under development or about to enter commercial operations in the North America region, are: • Pecan Prairie Solar Project by ConnectGen Location: Leon County, Southwestern Texas. Expected capacity: 500 MW. Construction date: 2021. Expected operational date: early 2022.

• Sunflower Solar PV Farm by Recurrent Energy Location: Sunflower County, Mississippi.

Expected capacity: 100 MW. Status: currently under construction. Expected operational date: mid-2022.

• Ocean Wind Project by Orsted Location: off the coasts of Atlantic City, in New Jersey. Expected capacity: 2,3 GW. Expected operational date: 2024.

• Vineyard Wind project by Avangrid Location: Massachusetts. Expected capacity: 800 MW. It will be the U.S.'s first utility-scale offshore wind farm.

Expected operational date: 2022.

• Muskrat Falls Hydro Project by Nalcor Energy Location: Newfoundland and Labrador provinces, Canada. Expected capacity: 3000 MW. Operational date: August 2021.

• Wind Farm Mesa de Morenos,

by BAS Corporation Location: Pinos, Zacatecas, Mexico.

Expected capacity: 76 MW. Operational date: June 2021 (to be confirmed).

14

Transmission, essential to a broader connection Since the 1990s, first through NAFTA and now under the USMCA, North America has developed a deep business relationship regarding energy. In this sense, transmission has not been the exception.

To illustrate, there are currently 34 international transmission lines between the US and Canada that transport and supply electricity on both sides of the border.

Similarly, US-Mexico cross-border transmission efforts have been possible since 1993 through the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) and the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT).

These institutions have facilitated the regional coordination of electrical energy exchanges between utility companies in the US and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) in Mexico, now covering about 2,510 km (1560 miles).

Nevertheless, the new renewable infrastructure also needs transmission lines to allow for a broader connection between the three countries.

Therefore, investment and development of continental transmission lines are crucial issues in the energy transition.

In this regard, a great project is Avangrid's New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), which will create a connection with Canada to bring clean hydropower from Quebec to Maine and New England.

Avangrid will install a 145-mile transmission line that, in partnership with Hydro-Quebec, will deliver up to 1,200 MW to the Lewiston's grid.

New York State is also making progress in renewable transmission infrastructure, with the Green Energy Superhighway project. Another significant effort is the North American Supergrid, first proposed in 2019. NAS would be a 48-state network intended to transport renewable energy to demand centers.

Storage boom: to reshape the energy transition ttery storage solutions are currently booming in the US. In the third quarter of 2020 alone, the country added 476 MW of storage capacity. According to the latest Wood Mackenzie US Energy Storage Monitor report, these solutions increased 240% over the second quarter of 2020.

In 2021, projects in this regard are expected to triple. By 2025 the U.S. market will have 7,5 GW 15

Analysis

of battery storage capacity newly added, mainly because of 2020's sixfold growth. Besides, according to the EIA, utility-scale battery storage's costs have decreased 70 percent over the last three years.

Energy storage solutions also grew rapidly during 2020 in Canada; currently, the country has 130 MW / 250 MW hours in operation; 10% came online during 2020. With prices declining rapidly and regulatory frameworks advancing, storage solutions will continue to expand in 2021, particularly in Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.

In Mexico, the road is still long as the country first needs to increase its clean energy use. However, the National Institute for Clean Energy and Energy (INEEL by its Spanish acronym) and the University of Birmingham are conducting a study to show the benefits of implementing energy storage technologies in Mexican communities.

Some projects secured during 2021's first two months.

16

• Sungrow Energy, Chisholm Grid project Location: Fort Worth, Texas. Expected storage capacity: 100 MW. Expected completion date: June 2021. Note: Once completed, it will be the largest battery storage facility in Texas.

• Wärtsilä Group, Eolica Coromuel Wind Farm.

Location: La Paz, Baja California, Mexico.

Expected storage capacity: 10 MW. Expected Completion Date: Not disclosed. Note: first energy storage project of Wärtsilä in Mexico.

• PG&E and its expanded battery storage portfolio in California The Pacific Gas & Electric Company expanded its battery storage portfolio for 2022 and 2023. Expected Storage Capacity: 1000 MW (through six initial projects).

Expected completion dates: 2022-2023.

• NRStor, Oneida Energy Storage project Location: Ontario, Canada. Expected storage capacity: 250 MW. Expected construction date: 2022. Note: Upon completion by 2024, it will be the largest complex of its kind in Canada.

A transition or a revolution?

The energy transition is taking place with different approaches across the region, not only on a material basis but also in each country's regulatory realms.

In the US, for instance, federal, state, and local governments and electric utilities encourage programs such as the Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC), the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), the Residential Energy Credit, and the renewable energy certificates or credits (RECs). Besides, most states

have some financial incentives available to subsidize the installation of renewable energy equipment.

In Canada, the government manages funding, grants, and incentive programs to encourage renewable energy research, development, and demonstration.

These efforts include the Energy Innovation and the Green Infrastructure programs, among several others. The administration is also helping oil & gas companies transition through the Oil and Gas Clean Tech Program.

For Mexico, the scenario is very different. According to a Wood Mackenzie report released in 2020, the country won't reach its 35% clean energy target by 2024. Core reasons behind this situation are the nondefinite cancellation of new electricity auctions due to the Covid-19 crisis, the increasing centralization of the electric market, and the announcement of new Federal Electricity Commission's (CFE) combinedcycle gas plants additions.

In conclusion, different speeds and paces are evident within the US as a whole. In Canada, this transformation is also expanding and evolving with a sense of urgency. On Mexico's side, the country is currently facing its government's reluctance to reinforce its existing renewable infrastructure further.

While the transition is impending, it will highly depend on the vision its players acquire upon infrastructure to be remembered as a real revolution.

17

Analysis

Oil Price, Electric Vehicles, Transition Plans

Video Interview

By Ed Brost, · Managing Director, Innovation and Sustainable Development, Carbovate Development Corp. · Associate, Bowman Centre for Sustainable Energy. carbovate.com www.bowmancentre.com 18

“T

here are moments in history when everything changes. Inflection points.

We believe such a point is upon us for the mass adoption of electric vehicles,”i Deborah Wahl, GM Global Chief Marketing Officer. ” Could the 'inflection point' be as soon as mid this decade? If so, leaders need to decide to stay with past business models or imagine new businesses.

Risk stagnation or risk innovation.ii

DOES A TRANSITION NEED TO BE COMPLETE BEFORE CONTRIBUTING TO CHRONICALLY LOW OIL PRICES? WHAT WILL THE SUPPLY-DEMAND BALANCE LOOK LIKE LATER THIS DECADE? WILL PRICES BE HIGH ENOUGH TO SUSTAIN THE MORE EXPENSIVE OIL SOURCES?

The temptation to continue undue reliance on 20th-century fuels is rooted in syllogisms like; vehicle sales are growing in developing countries, vehicles need fuel; so, oil demand will increase. And we will need oil for decades to come. Is this sound logic?

Arguing we will need oil for decades to come, although true, says nothing about oil prices. Is oil the fuel?

No one disputes there will be vestigial demand for oil for decades

to come. No one disputes that chronically low oil prices threaten the sector's viability. No one disputes it will take decades to complete a transition to electrified transport.

But does a transition need to be complete before contributing to chronically low oil prices? What will the supply-demand balance look like later this decade? Will prices be high enough to sustain the more expensive oil sources?iii Few will dispute that someday Electric Vehicles (EV) will threaten oil demand and thus prices.

Annual EV sales are often used to assess and dismiss this threat. Looking at sales suggests risk to the sector is years away. But looking at annual EV sales is like admiring 19

Analysis

ANNUAL EV SALES DATA FAILS TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT REMAINS IN USE FOR OVER A DECADE ONCE AN EV ENTERS SERVICE. EVERY FOSSILFUELED VEHICLE DISPLACED

BY AN EV PERMANENTLY REMOVES OIL DEMAND FOR THAT SERVICE.

an aggressor's fist, not anticipating a sucker punch, even when it is obvious it is about to happen.

Annual EV sales data fails to recognize that it remains in use for over a decade once an EV enters service. Every fossil-fueled vehicle displaced by an EV permanently removes oil demand for that service. Cumulative EVs is the critical factor, not annual sales. So, how many EVs are required to impact oil prices? When might that occur? Is it decades into the future? OR is it imminent? How much does a small drop in oil demand, relative to supply, impact price?

A 2% oil surplus led to a 70% drop in oil prices between 2014 and 2015.iV That surplus was partly due to Saudi Arabian mischief. But that mischief, like today and compounded by COVID 19, is causing acute problems. However, electrification of transport is chronic. That chronic effect on oil prices will start imperceptibly small and increase over time.

Until decades from now, when the transition is virtually complete. But, as we saw in 2014 and 20

again starting late 2019 (pre-COVID), a small supply-demand disconnect seriously affected crude prices. Since this chronic issue will grow, a return to long-term high prices is unlikely. Even if oil production increases, expect a growing chronic supply-demand disconnect and depressed oil prices.

So, how many EVs could cause a 2% oil supply-demand imbalance? A reportV by the Bowman Centre for Sustainable Energy estimated under 40 million EVs worldwide. And it could happen by mid-decade. So, what to do?

First, we need to recognize the severity of problems currently facing the oil sector. Jobs are disappearing; companies are under financial stress

UNDER 40 MILLION EVS WORLDWIDE COULD CAUSE A 2% OIL SUPPLY-DEMAND IMBALANCE BY 2025.

21

Analysis

leading to serious ripple effects. These challenges are being imposed on us by global forces. Even if they wanted to, our government and industry leaders' rhetoric could not slow this global shift.

Governments need to develop and implement transition plans designed for oil sector workers and society at large. Equitable, data-driven, and realistic transition plans will embrace the electrification of transport as an opportunity. Visionary, courageous, and cooperative leadership is required to drive technical and social solutions. Leadership that provides opportunities and prepares the country, citizens, and companies for a punch that seems obviously about to happen.

22

Finally, what if we are wrong? Nothing. There is no downside. Implementing a transition plan will create jobs in addition to those in a scenario where the oil sector prospers as in the past.

Recall the adage; the stone age did not end because we ran out of stones.

References

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/01/09/what-is-gms-new-logo-ad-campaign-actually-about/ Clayton Christensen, 1997, The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, Harvard Business Review Press, iii Oil price rout: which supply is most at risk of shut-in? Wood Mackenzie, 27 March 2020 https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/price_rout_shut_in_supply/ iV Factors Behind the 2014 Oil Price Decline, Reinhard Ellwanger, Benjamin Sawatzky and Konrad Zmitrowicz, Bank of Canada Review • Autumn 2017. PDF V Electric Vehicle Impact on the Oil Sands, A White Paper About Preparing a Nation for the Future.

Vi Ahmed Zaki Yamani, former Saudi Arabian Oil Minister. The Stone Age Did Not End Because the World Ran Out of Stones, and the Oil Age Will Not End Because We Run Out of Oil – Quote Investigator i

ii

23

Analysis

Factors Affecting the U.S. Push Toward a Green Hydrogen Economy

Video Interview

By Denmon Sigler

By Andrew Ketner

Chair North American Energy Transaction Practice,

Senior Associate,

Baker & McKenzie LLP

Baker & McKenzie LLP

denmon.sigler@bakermckenzie.com

andrew.ketner@bakermckenzie.com

G

lobal demand for pure hydrogen is approximately 70Mt per year, largely for use in oil refining and chemical production, and continues to rise. Hydrogen can be made from fossil fuels or biomass, or by electrolysis (passing electricity through water). Currently most hydrogen is produced from natural gas or other fossil fuels such as coal, and the associated carbon emissions are significant.

24

Global Demand for Hydrogen Refining

Ammonia

Other

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

Source: IEA, Global demand for pure hydrogen, 1975-2019, IEA, Paris

2005

2010

2015

2020

As the world continues to grapple with the threats posed by climate change, global decarbonization efforts have taken center stage.

Countries are actively seeking ways to reduce or eliminate carbon from their economies, and many observers see “green” hydrogen— hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources—as playing a vital role in achieving a decarbonized global economy.

Unlike so-called “grey” hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas or other fossil fuels, green hydrogen is produced using clean electricity and does not result in carbon emissions.

The majority of industrial hydrogen in the U.S. is grey hydrogen produced from natural gas.

While grey hydrogen is relatively cheap to produce due to the low cost of natural gas in the country, the process releases vast quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Other parts of the world, including the European Union, China and Japan, have made significant strides in developing long-term hydrogen strategies, spurred by massive investments in research and infrastructure. While it may lag behind these countries in terms of hydrogen investment, the U.S. is poised to become a major player in green hydrogen.

The factors discussed below will affect how quickly the U.S. becomes a leader in the green hydrogen industry.

Cost of Electrolyzer Infrastructure

The key ingredient for green hydrogen is cheap, low-carbon electricity. Through a process called electrolysis, the electricity is run through water to produce hydrogen with zero or low carbon emissions (depending on the source of electricity used).

The cost to produce renewable energy in the U.S. has declined dramatically in recent years, which bodes well for green hydrogen production. However, the cost of electrolyzers—the machines used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen—in Hydrogen Production, Near and Long-Term the U.S. remains prohibitively high, despite recent declines.

President Biden through the announcement of his clean energy plan has promised that the U.S. will have access to green hydrogen at the same cost as grey hydrogen by 2031. For this to be the case, the U.S. must develop more innovative and cost-effective Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Hydrogen Production electrolyzer technology.

25

Analysis

Hydrogen Electrolysis Process

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Enhancements in Carbon Capture and Storage Another form of low-carbon hydrogen, “blue” hydrogen, is produced from fossil fuels but uses carbon capture and storage (CCS) to offset emissions. While some countries have not embraced blue hydrogen (Germany declared in its national hydrogen strategy that, “only hydrogen that has been produced using renewable energy is sustainable in the long term”), it could serve as an intermediate solution in the U.S., particularly given the increased use of CCS technology in renewable energy production. If CCS technology—which currently captures about 90% of carbon emissions—is improved to allow for close to 100% capture, CCS could also serve as a long-term solution.

Big oil is poised to lead the way in development of blue hydrogen, with a number of companies, including Equinor, BP PLC, Repsol SA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and PetroChina Co. announcing investments in blue hydrogen.

Deployment in Industrial Sectors Given the potential wave of government policy that would penalize companies for carbon emissions, there is a growing demand for hydrogen in heavy industrial sectors where decarbonization is more difficult, such as aviation, steel, shipping and power.

26

These industries, which rely predominately on fossil fuels for power, could meet emissions-reduction targets by incorporating blue hydrogen or green hydrogen into their processes. Likewise, industries that use grey hydrogen as a chemical feedstock, such as refining and ammonia, could dramatically reduce carbon emissions by transitioning to lower-carbon hydrogen.

Demand for low-carbon hydrogen and its emerging applications is expected to increase exponentially in the next 20 years, creating the need for considerable infrastructure to handle production and delivery. For hydrogen to make a significant contribution to the country’s clean energy transition, the U.S. must be able to deploy low-carbon hydrogen technologies in these sectors.

Government Support As part of its overall commitment to combat climate change, the Biden administration has pledged to make historic investments in clean energy and innovation in order to accelerate the deployment of clean technology throughout the U.S. economy.

Building foundational hydrogen infrastructure will require a significant amount of capital. In order to attract this capital, the U.S. federal government should establish a supportive regulatory framework with meaningful government incentives.

Much like federal tax credits spurred private-sector investment in wind and solar projects, federal incentives for low-carbon hydrogen would give a huge boost to investors who are eager to advance U.S. hydrogen production. Look for low-carbon hydrogen to be a focal point of the administration in the near term.

Given the growing emphasis on sustainability and decarbonization, investors will continue to focus on companies and technologies that advance these goals.

Smart policies that support the growth of blue hydrogen and green hydrogen and foster public-private collaboration would give developers and investors certainty that they can continue expanding the country’s clean energy infrastructure.

27

Power

Revisiting the potential of carbon capture technologies

By Bob Slettehaugh Manager, Carbon Capture, Kiewit Corporation

Video Interview

28

T

he concept of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies, which date back to the 1970s, is not new. While the technology has continued to evolve over the years, it has not achieved mainstream appeal or widespread adoption in the U.S. However, with new regulatory and economic drivers on the horizon—along with an increased emphasis on sustainable investment strategies—now is the time to revisit the potential of CCUS. A crucial aspect in capitalizing on the benefits of CCUS will be the ability to expedite the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of such systems.

WITH NEW REGULATORY AND ECONOMIC DRIVERS ON THE HORIZON—ALONG WITH AN INCREASED EMPHASIS ON SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT STRATEGIES—NOW IS THE TIME TO REVISIT THE POTENTIAL OF CCUS. To help solidify the feasibility of CCUS, engineering and construction companies are partnering with technology providers to streamline, scale and increase the certainty of project outcomes. Kiewit has embarked on several key CCUS initiatives with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA) and Svante, Inc. One key benefit of these partnerships is the ability to leverage the experience of Kiewit and its affiliate TIC-The Industrial Company in building the 29

Power

first commercial-sized post-combustion carbon capture system in the U.S. Through the engineering, construction and commissioning of the Petra Nova facility in Thompson, Texas, CCUS technology was successfully implemented in a real-world scenario.

However, additional research is needed to tailor CCUS to a wider range of applications, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Laboratory Technology (DOE-NETL) has taken a leadership role in this effort.

In Illinois, a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for the retrofit of the Prairie State Generating Station is currently underway, which is backed by funding from the DOE-NETL. 30

CCUS WILL INEVITABLY NOT BE THE RIGHT SOLUTION FOR ALL ENERGY PROVIDERS. HOWEVER, IT CAN BE THE RIGHT SOLUTION IN AREAS WHERE SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY GENERATION CAN NOT MEET RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

CCUS HAS THE GREATEST PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS WHEN DEPLOYED WITH AN INTEGRATED PROJECT DELIVERY. Working under the direction of the Prairie Research Institute within the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, Kiewit and other project partners are developing strategies to achieve a net-zero operation. The study includes the design of a system that would capture 95 percent of carbon emissions at the facility and additional carbon offset measures. Ultimately, the goal is to be “shovel ready” at the end of the study as well as offer a viable solution that can be deployed at other similar facilities.

DOE-NETL is also funding an analysis of a carbon capture plant at the Kern River oil field in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The scope of the study includes the cost-shared development for the design, construction and operation of the plant utilizing Svante’s solid sorbent technology. Again, this work reflects strong collaboration between public sector researchers, an EPC contractor and technology provider.

CCUS will inevitably not be the right solution for all energy providers depending on a facility’s age, capacity, available on-site space and location of fuel source. However, it can be the right solution in areas where solar and wind energy generation can not meet reliability and performance standards. CCUS can also be used in conjunction with renewable

energy sources to support the transition to lowercarbon energy.

Overall, CCUS has the greatest probability of success when deployed with an integrated project delivery. Specific subject matter experts should be engaged to effectively navigate the constructability, supplier networks and the integration of specialty equipment. Furthermore, the effort requires trusted engineering and construction partners with a proven track record of cost and schedule certainty.

All of these factors help make CCUS more easily accessible and attainable to a wider range of applications and facilities. As carbon capture continues to move from the sidelines to the spotlight, the U.S is well-positioned to move CCUS from concept to reality with steadfast cost and performance guarantees.

31

Power

Building Resiliency: The Port of San Diego’s Microgrid Solution

By Michael Robinson Distributed Solutions / EDF – Renewables https://distributedinc.com/

The Port of San Diego is improving its resiliency and reducing its electricity bills with a microgrid solution that will also support achievement of its climate goals.

32

Video Interview

M

icrogrids are innovative, stateof-the art systems that integrate a distributed generation source (e.g., traditional fossil fuel backup generators, solar panels, or a combination of both) with batteries and intelligent controls to create a sophisticated, resilient system that reduces energy costs and GHG emissions while also providing reliable backup power.

In the event of a power outage, microgrids seamlessly provide full power to the facility as if the grid were still there, with no discernable interruption to operations – a feature that’s essential to strategic infrastructure like the Port of San Diego, which is designated as a Strategic Port.

The Port’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal (TAMT) houses Port-operated facilities that include security infrastructure, lights, offices, and a jet fuel storage system. The microgrid is a 700 kW / 2,400 kWh battery system that

THE PORT OF SAN DIEGO’S MICROGRID HAS BEEN CALLED THE “CROWN JEWEL” OF ITS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN

will manage energy produced by an array of solar panels for use during power outages. In addition to providing emergency backup power, it will reduce the Port’s electricity bills during grid-connected operations.

The Port of San Diego has an ongoing commitment to care for the environment of San Diego Bay and the surrounding waterfront and communities. The Port was one of the first cargo terminals in the country to create a climate action plan, and the microgrid has been called the “crown jewel” of that plan.

The microgrid will also support the Tenth 33

Power

IN OUR MODERN ECONOMY, A LOSS OF POWER MEANS BUSINESS ACTIVITY GRINDS TO AN ABRUPT HALT, WHICH CAN RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT COSTS – PARTICULARLY IF PRODUCT IS LOST. Avenue Marine Terminal Redevelopment Project by helping to make the Port more modern, clean, and efficient. The TAMT’s microgrid will pair battery energy storage with solar, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality at and around the Port.

It’s important to note that energy storage doesn’t have to be paired with solar to benefit a facility’s operations. During regular grid-connected operations, batteries can be charged from the grid at times of the day when power prices are low.

At times of the day when electricity prices are high, the facility can save money by using energy stored in the battery. Batteries will also reduce spikes in energy consumption, which in turn will lower energy costs by reducing utility demand charges, which are based on a facility’s highest 15 minutes of electricity usage in a given month.

Energy storage can also significantly improve the efficiency of new or existing backup diesel generators by reducing run time and allowing the 34

generator to run at a steady rate which in turn will save money and lower GHG emissions by reducing fuel consumption.

However, if your facility does have solar, you should definitely think about enhancing it with a storage-based microgrid! A lot of people don’t realize this, but in the event of a power outage, a standard solar array will turn off and stop producing power. This safety feature is required to prevent electricity from being delivered to an electrical grid that may be damaged. Because microgrids can be “islanded” from the rest of the electrical grid, they make it possible to continue harnessing the power from your facility’s solar panels if there’s an outage.

Almost every type of organization should consider installing a backup power system that uses a microgrid. In our modern economy, a loss of power causes business activity to grind to an abrupt halt, resulting in significant costs – particularly if product is lost. One study found that U.S. businesses

lose more than $27 billion a year due to power outages, and even outages that only last a few hours can cost businesses an average of $10,000 to $20,000 per event. A different survey found that 19% of commercial and industrial customers lost $50,000 or more per outage, and for another 18%, outages cost $100,000 or more per incident.1 In years past, when power outages were few and far between, relying solely on emergency backup generators was a viable solution – but today, outages are increasing in frequency and duration. Proactive organizations are responding by developing resiliency strategies that also improve sustainability. Microgrids deliver a positive return on investment by reducing electricity bills during regular grid connected operations and meeting your organization’s emergency power needs, all while reducing emissions. https://www.esource.com/ES-PR-Outages-2016-01/Press-Release/Outages

35

Power

Methane fugitive emissions from public and private perspectives Video Interview

By Marco Cota

By Mike Braun

CEO of Talanza Energy and

VP of Infratech Corporation and

founding partner of Eminent.

founding partner of Eminent.

marco.cota@eminent.energy

mike.braun@eminent.energy

There is a “tectonic shift” towards Net Zero, as stated by BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, in his 2020 annual letter to CEOs. International oil companies like Repsol, Shell, Total, BP and national ones like Petronas have endorsed 100% Net Zero goals under Scopes 1 and 2 for 2050. But what does this mean?

36

N

et zero refers to the balance between Greenhouse Gases (GHG) produced and those reduced, where emissions produced must be equal to emissions reduced. The first concept is universally known, oil and gas production and consumption generate GHG emissions. The second is not that widely known as it refers to extract emissions from the atmosphere using technologies like reducing fugitive methane emissions, carbon capture and storage; gas decarbonization, hydrogen, among others.

Scope 1 refers to direct GHG from company operations.

Scope 2: Indirect emissions from energy consumed by the company. Scope 3: Indirect emissions generated by the goods and services produced by the company.

(For more information, see GHG Protocol Initiative).

Moreover, financial sector is also endorsing Net Zero goals which translates in less funding for projects with

Marginal abatement cost curve for oil- and gas-related methane emissions globally (IEA) Africa

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America

Middle East

North America

Russia & Caspian

USD / MBtu 10 7.5 5 2.5 0

-2.5

-5

-7.5

-10 Kt

37

Power

deficit in their emission balances. Is this a punishment or an incentive? As we will discuss below, Net Zero goals have public and private interests aligned.

METHANE, ENVIRONMENT, AND BUSINESS: A CASE OF Case 1 Samll Gas Plant Cost of Insepction: $2,243 Cost ok leaking gas: $3,616 per year Leaks fixed: 16/16

Case 2 Mid-size gas processing plant Cost of Insepction: $2,138 Cost ok leaking gas: $11,252 per year Leaks fixed: 21/22

Savings

Savings

ROI: 61% Cost

ROI: 400% Cost

ALIGNED INTERESTS. Methane has been responsible for 40% of global warming since the industrial revolution. Additionally, its effect to global warming is 84x carbon dioxide’s over a 20-year period and fossil fuels represent 36% of the world methane emissions. Thus, tackling methane emissions in the oil and gas industry can be a shortcut, capable of obtaining results in a couple of decades.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 40% of world’s methane emissions from oil and gas can be repaired with a positive economic return, making the accurate repairment of methane leakage from facilities and equipment a “no brainer” towards Net Zero.

Take, for example, three representative cases out from our 150 projects portfolio in Canada, where direct measurement methods are mandatory. By applying Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) technology for methane emissions quantification allowed for immediate repairs and economic benefits from stopping the gas waste.

38

Case 3 2SAGD oil production facilities Cost of Insepction: (3peryear): $90,000 Cost of leaking gas: $388,00 Leaks repaired: 1,167 / 1,406 Savings ROI: 269% Cost

REGULATION AND BEST PRACTICES IN THE NORTH AMERICAN REGION In 2016, the USMCA region (NAFTA at the time) became the raw model for the rest of the world in regulating methane emissions in oil and gas activities when the presidents Trudeau, Obama and Peña jointly committed to reduce the 2012 levels of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 2025.

THE FINANCIAL SECTOR IS INCREASINGLY ENDORSING NET ZERO GOALS, TRANSLATING INTO LESS FUNDING FOR PROJECTS WITH A DEFICIT IN THEIR EMISSION BALANCES. HOWEVER, IS THIS A PUNISHMENT OR AN INCENTIVE?

METHANE HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR 40% OF GLOBAL WARMING SINCE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. ADDITIONALLY, ITS EFFECT ON CLIMATE CHANGE IS 84X CARBON DIOXIDE'S OVER 20 YEARS. THUS, TACKLING METHANE EMISSIONS IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY CAN BE A SHORTCUT, CAPABLE OF OBTAINING RESULTS IN A COUPLE OF DECADES.

39

Power

In fulfilling this goal, the United States issued the methane-specific requirements for regulations (NSPS-2016) requesting direct measurement for quantification and monitoring of methane leaks using OGI technology and the Method 21 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Canadian regulation also followed this best practice, requiring any technology that shows equal or better results than OGI and it is the only country of the USMCA region with traceable results, environmentally and economically.

Another best practice followed by all three countries in the North American region is the requirement to perform Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) programs.

DEVIATIONS FROM BEST PRACTICES Unfortunately, Mexican regulations (ASEA-2018) deviate from best practices allowing indirect methods for the methane emission baseline quantification without any conditioning. These methods refer to an estimation of emissions through engineering calculations, like the popular use of emission factors (which are normally designed for overestimation). By requiring LDAR programs based on direct methods such as OGI; and, contradictorily, allowing indirect methods for estimating emission baseline; there is a technical inconsistency in ASEA-2018.

The first LDAR program in Mexico must be performed within 3 months after the emission baseline submittal. Given this inconsistency, it is advisable that companies opt for direct measurement right from the emission baseline.

However, the most drastic departure from best practice was when in 2020 President Trump’s administration abrogated the NSPS 2016 applicable to sources in the production and processing segments.

40

Emission Measurement and Reduction

*Indirect Measurement Case-by case emission reduction

EE.UU. Direct Measurement Emission limits previously established

Canada

Fulfillment of goals in 6 years with annual reviews

Mexico

FOR SOME TIME, IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT REDUCING METHANE EMISSIONS IS THE LOW HANGING FRUIT IN COMBATING GLOBAL WARMING. THERE IS NOW SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE THAT DOING SO CAN ADDITIONALLY SPREAD ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO OIL AND GAS PRODUCERS AND SOCIETY.

THE FUTURE: A CALL FOR PUBLIC AND FINANCIAL LEAD ACTIONS. Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR)

EE.UU.

Depending on the equipment characteristics · Semiannual for wells · Quarterly for compressors · Monthly to yearly for gas Component processing level Method 21 OGI

Every 3 months

60 gays after starting production.

Al least 3 times per year and at least 60 day after the last inspection

Canada

Mexico

For some time, it has been said that reducing methane emissions is the low hanging fruit in combating global warming.

There is now solid evidence that doing so can additionally spread economic benefits to oil and gas producers and society.

International Oil Companies and global investment banks are now committed to Net Zero goals. However, governments are late for implementing sound regulatory systems. North America is still the world leading region in regulating fugitive methane emissions, and Canada is the success case of the three countries. We hope to see Mexico and United States with more effective actions for reducing gas waste.

41

Upstream

The importance of Top Management in a post shale world • J.P. Chevrierre, Transmar Consultants • Anabel Daily, Daily Thermetrics www.globalenergywriters.com 42

43

Upstream

New realities require attention Why are the leading EPC and technical service companies not adapting to new realities?

Why have the leading EPCs replaced their CEOs and leadership teams over the past two years but failed to remedy their strategic problems?

In our view, the core reason for failure is wrongly structured top management teams and Board of Directors. The result is that both structures are not performing well. We can learn valuable lessons by reviewing a bit of history regarding these organizational schemes.

Father of modern management organizations Georg Siemens, a 19th-century German lawyer, was the Father and creator of the modern topmanagement organization.

At an early age, he was put in charge of the failing Deutsche Bank Company. Siemens thought deeply about the top management function and soon realized that it was distinct from other kinds of operational work. Moreover, top management was full- not part-time work.

Siemens believed that an effective top management was essential for success. He set out principles for developing it, consequently leading to Deutsche Bank becoming the major financial institution in Europe within a decade. His favorite motto was, "an organization without an effective top management is only so much office furniture, only fit to be auctioned off."

Unfortunately, this motto is apt for some contractor organizations of today.

44

WHY ARE THE LEADING EPC AND TECHNICAL SERVICE COMPANIES NOT ADAPTING TO NEW REALITIES? IN OUR VIEW, THE CORE REASON FOR FAILURE IS WRONGLY STRUCTURED TOP MANAGEMENT TEAMS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

THE SHALE HAS FATHERED SEVERAL TRANSFORMATIONS, AND CONTRACTORS, IN CONSEQUENCE, MUST POSSESS A WELL-FUNCTIONING TOP MANAGEMENT TEAM. MOST CONTRACTORS DO NOT HAVE ONE.

The Siemens Principles Let's review the fundamental principles of Georg Siemens. They are the foundation of all successful companies and are currently missing from many contractor managements: • First, an effective top management group is a team, not a committee.

Each member of the team should have primary responsibility for their area of competence.

The panoply of issues that top management must address include: business strategy, ethical matters, government regulations, ceremonial, crisis management, key personnel, and building plants.

For Siemens, it was clear that no person could do all these top management tasks. Thus, an effective one-person top management is an impossibility. A competent team is required.

• Second, top management tasks are unique and recurrent but not continuous.

Issues regarding key personnel, building projects, acquisitions, or government will

occur from time to time and are recurrent. They are not continuous. Addressing any unique issue requires that the primary competent top management members be the deciding voice. However, all team members are interdependent, and they need to understand what the other members are doing. Thus, intense communication between team members is imperative.

• Third, contractor staff service departments provide support to operations.

Besides the data generated by service departments such as finance, marketing, proprietary technology, legal, and more, top management requires specific and unique data, information, and insights as nourishment to the company's "brain."

To provide this brain food, Siemens invented the "Executive Secretariat," a group whose mission is to solely provide strategic information, formulate questions, and stimulate the top management team's thinking.

Role of Board members A healthy and effective contracting company needs a Board of Directors that contributes to and monitors top management's performance. One that works closely supervising the top management team performance.

45

Upstream

In past days, contracting companies, like Brown & Root, Lummus, CF Braun, KTI, Jacobs, Halliburton, etc., were owned by strong executives and their families.

Their Board of Directors were populated with strong individuals with a real stake in the business.

Today, the contractor companies are publicly owned with very diverse shareholders. Board members are often recruited friends of senior executives, key celebrity or well-known public figures, company bankers, lawyers, and such.

Frequently, these members are on multiple Boards (10-15) and cannot do the serious homework required to be effective. These people do not assess top management's performance, work with the top management team, fire non-performing top executives or help recruit new top managers.

Intelligent executives in the global hydrocarbon industry should be moved by a spirit of ratio cognoscendi (a need to understand why). This spirit is essential to move toward an understanding of the consequences of the Shale Revolution.

The shale has fathered several transformations, and contractors, in consequence, must possess a wellfunctioning top management team. Most contractors do not have one. If they did, they wouldn't be losing money, frequently facing bankruptcy, and missing the shale's emergence.

Solutions for EPC contractors and industry Our solution or remedy to the contracting industry's problems is to take these steps and establish a much needed and effective top management team: • Understand that top management is a team, not a committee.

• Top management work is a full-time job.

• Create a strategy and research to support the top management team.

• Recruit an effective performance-oriented Board as part of the top management system.

46

INTELLIGENT EXECUTIVES IN THE GLOBAL HYDROCARBON INDUSTRY SHOULD BE MOVED BY A SPIRIT OF RATIO COGNOSCENDI (A NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHY). THIS SPIRIT IS ESSENTIAL TO MOVE TOWARD AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SHALE REVOLUTION.

THE CHOICE TO WIN ENTAILS THE WILL TO PREPARE. AS THE OLD MANAGEMENT AXIOM SAYS, "TREES DIE FROM THE TOP, NOT THE ROOTS."

These are the significant changes needed to reverse the contractors' decline serving the petroleum and chemical industries in a post-shale world. Change must, however, start at the top. Does the will and courage to make such changes exist? The choice to win entails the will to prepare. As the old management axiom says, "trees die from the top, not the roots."

About the authors J. P. Chevrierre is founder of Transmar Consult, Inc., a leading advisory to the global energy and industrial sector. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Appleton Partners and is a Director of LOGO, a Paris based optical company, and Rice University Global Forum Board.

Mr. Chevrierre holds a BS degree in engineering science with honors from Temple University, an MS degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a PhD from the Universite de Paris.

Anabel Daily is president and CEO of Daily Thermetrics, a Houston-based heat management manufacturing company serving the hydrocarbon and aerospace industries.

Dr. Daily holds a doctorate in medicine and an MBA from Rice University.

LITERATURE CITED: 1Energy Information Administration, "EIA adds new play production data to shale gas and tight oil reports," February 15, 2019.

47

Downstream

New Biofuel Plant featuring Enerkem’s unique technology planned in Quebec, Canada

48

By Charles Tremblay Vice President, Project Delivery, Enerkem https://enerkem.com/

49

Downstream

I

n December 2020, Enerkem made a paramount announcement. With a group of strategic partners that include major investor Shell, Suncor, Proman, Hydro-Québec (supplying green hydrogen and oxygen), and the Québec and Canadian governments' support, Enerkem made public the construction of a biofuel plant in Varennes, in the Greater Montréal area. This project's investment is over $875M CAD, generating annual recurring economic benefits of $85 million for Québec.

Varennes Carbon Recycling (VCR) will produce biofuels and renewable chemicals made from non-recyclable residual materials as well as wood waste. The plant will leverage green hydrogen and oxygen produced through electrolysis, transforming Quebec's excess hydroelectricity capacity into value-added biofuels and renewable chemicals.

VCR will convert more than 200,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste and wood waste into an annual production of nearly 125 million liters of biofuels. The contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction will be equivalent to taking close to 50,000 vehicles off the road annually.

VCR will include constructing one of the world's largest renewable hydrogen and oxygen production facilities with an 87-megawatt electrolyzer leveraging Quebec's green electricity. The entire

50

THE VARENNES CARBON RECYCLING (VCR) PROJECT’S INVESTMENT IS OVER $875M CAD, GENERATING ANNUAL RECURRING ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF $85 MILLION FOR QUÉBEC, AND CONVERTING MORE THAN 200,000 TONNES OF NONRECYCLABLE WASTE AND WOOD WASTE INTO AN ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF NEARLY 125 MILLION LITERS OF BIOFUELS. project will create more than 500 jobs during construction and about 100 permanent direct skilled jobs in operations.

Charles Tremblay, Vice President, Project Delivery, has been leading this vast project for Enerkem: "We are proud to partner with leading international energy and chemical industry players and to benefit from the support of our federal and provincial governments and the City of Varennes. This strong support validates the uniqueness of our gasification technology to enable the production of circular synthesis gas.

It is a major achievement for Enerkem to have its second full-scale commercial plant become a reality, showcasing our unique, clean disruptive technology that transforms waste into biofuels and renewable chemicals. We have learned a great deal from our initial pilot project in Westbury, Québec, and our first commercial demonstration plant in Edmonton, Alberta."

AN EXCEPTIONAL SHOWCASE TO DISPLAY QUÉBEC'S EXPERTISE IN INNOVATIVE GREEN TECHNOLOGY The plant will be an example of Québec and Canadian know-how and leadership in developing and deploying innovative clean technologies. Thanks to its unprecedented technology, Enerkem was able to bring together world-class global strategic partners who intend to take a leading investment role in this flagship facility of the green economy.

This plant will produce one of the lowest carbon-intensive fuels by diverting non-recyclable waste as well as wood waste materials from landfills and through access to green electricity and green hydrogen and oxygen.

A UNIQUE AND CLEAN DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED BY ENERKEM Enerkem's technology enables recycling the carbon and hydrogen contained in non-recyclable waste and wood waste currently landfilled and burned.

Enerkem's proprietary thermochemical process allows converting this carbon into biofuels and renewable chemicals, made from methanol, which is the project's intermediary product. These products enable society to reduce the consumption of traditional hydrocarbons used for transportation and in everyday products (paint, windshield washer fluid, plastics, and chemicals of all kinds).

Enerkem is a private Canadian company with 215 employees established since 2000 with its

VCR WILL INCLUDE CONSTRUCTING ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST RENEWABLE HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN PRODUCTION FACILITIES WITH AN 87-MEGAWATT ELECTROLYZER LEVERAGING QUEBEC'S GREEN ELECTRICITY.

headquarters in Montreal, QC., and R&D facilities in Sherbrooke, QC, and Edmonton, AB. Enerkem has created an effective technology development team that has been successful in obtaining over 100 patents internationally related to various aspects of gasification and conversion of waste and biomass to higher-value products.

TANGIBLE SUPPORT FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY The proposed Varennes plant will support Québec's Plan pour une économie verte 2030 (PEV 2030), Québec's energy policy, and aligns with the government's desire to pursue the development of a circular economy less dependent on fossil fuel products (40% reduction by 2030). In addition to providing second life to waste material, it will expand the overall supply of alternative fuels and increase biofuel production in Québec, advancing its leadership in renewable energy and innovation.

51

Infrastructure

Innovation and the Art of Taking a Punch

An innovation perspective for what will impact the energy infrastructure community

52

By Chris Tisdel CEO of Ruckus Innovation Consulting, Austin, Texas

Video Interview

Over the past ten years, I have worked with many organizations within the energy infrastructure industry that have been looking to innovate in one way or another. These organizations are often very good at what they do, both from the perspective of expertise in their respective fields. From a financial perspective, they know how to generate value (or at least how they have developed value in the past).

www.ruckusic.com

H

owever, at some level or scale, they have reached that stage that Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, described as "this big, slow, constipated, bureaucratic company that's happy with its success." I sincerely believe that most of us can understand where Mark is coming from. How on the nose is the use of the word "constipated?" It really paints a picture.

In our corporate worlds, "big" typically equates with "cannot fail," and an organization's literal size is looked upon as a bulwark to change. As you have been told many times, change is bad, change is our enemy, change is the fly in our collective ointment. And yet, change is our only constant.

Change is innovation.

We get comfortable with the inefficiency, the incremental, the pursuit of what works versus excellence, and our titles and paychecks. To that end, we create endless "plans" that typically justify or document our constipation. The humorous nature of change does not care about your plans.

Remember the "Once and For All" fight in 1988 between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks? If you recall, 53

Infrastructure

AS YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD MANY TIMES, CHANGE IS BAD, CHANGE IS OUR ENEMY, CHANGE IS THE FLY IN OUR COLLECTIVE OINTMENT. AND YET, CHANGE IS OUR ONLY CONSTANT. CHANGE IS INNOVATION.

when interviewed about how he would take down his opponent, Spinks said, "I've got a plan." When Tyson was interviewed with the same question, he famously replied, "Everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth!" That fight lasted 91 seconds.

Sound familiar? 2020 ring a bell? You are always in a fight, and the next punch is always on its way.

What start-up or scale-up innovation does the energy infrastructure community face in the near future? Here are three innovation communities of their own that will advance, compliment, or disrupt the industry of energy, even if it takes slightly over 91 seconds to do so.

1. INNOVATION CULTURE: Traditionally, at least from the perspective of Western culture, the "American Dream" led most of us to a find-success-and-maintain-that-success career path that was intended to plant us squarely behind that white picket fence. While that dream was incredibly motivating for many generations, unfortunately, that same mindset eventually led to a state of "rarely exceeds expectations."

Based on the Gallup/Qualtrics "State of Workplace Report," 51% of employees (across the org chart) simply meet but never exceed expectations, 54

THE CULTURE OF INNOVATION IS ONE OF FAILURE BORN OF RISK-TAKING, COLLABORATION, AND AN OPERATING STRUCTURE THAT VALUES AND PROMOTES BOTH.

while an additional 17% are completely disengaged, day-to-day. To sum up, 68% of us across the corporate landscape are either destroying or simply not creating value.

The culture of innovation is one of failure born of risk-taking, collaboration, and an operating structure that values and promotes both. A metric of 32% remaining that actually creates value is a losing proposition and ripe for disruption.

2. BLOCKCHAIN: Blockchain has been widely dumbed down to "bitcoin," and the latter term sounds extremely risky to all of us in this industry. Blockchain should be thought of as a digital or "smart" contract that allows for the automated escrow of value to drive liquidity and progress across all program and project lifecycles.

55

Infrastructure

Thing "one metric to rule them all" due to its high level of trust and audit capabilities. If innovation culture is where value is born, blockchain is the foundational structure for how value is exchanged and realized. While the typical scenario involves financial transactions, once our legal system catches up with this technology, any transaction can be incorporated, trusted, and partially or fully executed or enforced without human interaction.

3. ADVANCED MANUFACTURING + CONSTRUCTION: While collection of technologies and techniques has been developing for years, presenting itself more recently as modular construction within the energy infrastructure community, recent innovations in computing and robotics have set this trend on fire. This community of innovations includes IoT, reality capture, digital modeling, robotics, and a host of other supporting technologies.

56

51% OF EMPLOYEES SIMPLY MEET BUT NEVER EXCEED EXPECTATIONS, AN ADDITIONAL 17% ARE COMPLETELY DISENGAGED, DAY-TO-DAY. 68% OF US ACROSS THE CORPORATE LANDSCAPE ARE EITHER DESTROYING OR SIMPLY NOT CREATING VALUE, BUT A CULTURE OF INNOVATION BREAKS THIS CYCLE

IF INNOVATION CULTURE IS WHERE VALUE IS BORN, BLOCKCHAIN IS THE FOUNDATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR HOW VALUE IS EXCHANGED AND REALIZED.

However, the most powerful weapon in its arsenal may be generative design fueled by artificial intelligence and automation that allow for thousands of simulated "failures," leading to the few remainder that maximize value, return, and production. If blockchain is how value is exchanged, advanced manufacturing and construction will be how and where it is tangible.

Capital and budgeted operational assets as we know them will be forever changed by the new ways in which we can design, build, and manufacture them.

Innovation is often equated with technology, but technology is an outcome, not a catalyst. People are innovation, so as you look toward the future, your next vision and strategy, your ongoing culture change, keep one paradigm in the front of your organizational mindset: People should be the first resort.

People will drive innovations that will impact the energy infrastructure community… you, me, all of us. It is your mandate to innovate. Surf the wave; do not be drowned by it.

Muhammad Ali is quoted as saying, "Life is like a boxing match… Defeat is declared not when you fall, but when you refuse to stand again." A culture of innovation based on immutable trust and executed through our most collaborative technologies and techniques will allow it to take any punch in the mouth and stand back up again, with a bloody nose and a big smile no matter how much change comes your way.

57

Infrastructure

58

Digital Project Delivery

By Eric Crivella Director of Business Development for Digital Construction Works, Inc. (DCW). www.digitalconstructionworks.com

C

onstruction projects in industrial facilities carry unique risks in terms of complexity, productivity, and safety.

Digital construction capabilities enable firms to visualize and predict potential problems before they occur and plan for avoidance in the safety of a virtual environment.

Data and Integrated Digital Workflows Drive Measurable and Predictable Outcomes.

Digital project delivery has been shown to deliver better project outcomes by improving predictability, transparency, and accountability. Integrating disparate project IT systems and stakeholders using a model-centric and construction-driven approach enables better planning, sequencing, constraint analysis, and change management to improve the delivery of capital projects of all project types, sizes, and locations.

59

Infrastructure

Research from the Construction Industry Institute (CII) (RT 324 Future Construction Needs of Virtual Design Models) reference on average integrated virtual construction model save 3-5% of the total construction cost. If properly and purposefully planned and executed, digital project delivery includes creating a digital twin of the asset. Having a Virtual Construction Model or integrated construction enables you to compare the as-planned to the asbuilt, reduce rework, improve the asset's reliability, improve safety and efficiency, reduce operations and maintenance costs, and lead to cost savings and on-time project delivery. All of which drive improvements in project performance, value, and results. Here are some vital tips for moving to a digital solution.

Avoid Piecemeal Solutions: By assessing your firm’s current people, processes, and technologies, a well-conceived digital strategy

60

identifies the applications and technologies that are the best fit for your firm’s success. It’s critical to understand your organization's priorities and current state of construction capabilities and map it to a desired digital state to enable your team to create a crawl-walk-run phased digital implementation plan.

Including an outside consultative approach avoids problems inherent in bending processes and people to match technology and desired outcomes internally.

of Labor Statistics, openings for construction managers alone are expected to rise by 10 percent from 2018-2028, double the average rate for most occupations. Even with the recent pandemic and loss and restart of construction projects and people returning to work, there is still a shortage of skilled construction labor.

Work with a Digital Integrator:

Distant or remote work initiatives, driven by more stringent worksite health and safety requirements resulting from the Covid pandemic, are causing firms to look at how digital construction workflows and solutions can help meet compliance orders. Out of times of challenge often comes innovation. These initiatives are opening doors to a more permanent digital transformation in the industry.

A digital integration, automation, and services company provide access to subject matter experts who can help do this for you. Integrator teams have backgrounds in construction, software and hardware, computer science and analytics, project management, and a multitude of engineering specialties from civil, mechanical, chemical, geotechnical, and surveying. Integration experts utilize best practices to deploy solutions, construction workflows, and services that ensure companies realize their digital transformation goals.

Understand Your Workforce: With the aging out of the current workforce, firms are finding it difficult to replace these skilled and experienced workers. Even in firms with a ready pool of younger workers, the system of older workers passing on their knowledge and experience is not holding up well, leaving significant gaps in capabilities and reducing competitiveness.

Recent research performed by Dodge Data and Analytics, illustrates the challenge of finding skilled construction workers has remained consistent with levels reported in Q2 2020.

The adoption of digital solutions can help attract the digital natives needed for the future of construction. Those who respond will find no lack of opportunities. According to the U.S. Bureau

Take Environmental Changes into Consideration:

Examine the Benefits of Digital Advanced Work Packaging: Data drives predictable outcomes. The digital revolution in capital projects is about creating integrated and automated digital workflows that can be measured and closed out. In the energy sector, several major owner-operators have started gamechanging capital project improvement programs with well-defined processes, connected data environments, as well as contracts and people aligned around a disciplined and agile project execution framework called Advanced Work Packaging (AWP).

AWP is a project execution methodology that aligns project stakeholders, people, processes, and technology over the project lifecycle to get to more predictable outcomes. The goal is to align engineering and construction around the 4D/5D path of construction, bring in planning resources early to create work packages (area, discipline, 61

Infrastructure

crew, test, system levels); and then make sure all constraints are addressed before releasing contracts and work to the field.

AWP is a proven best practice and can improve field productivity by up to 25%, save up to 10% of the total installed cost, and reduce safety incidents by up to 30%. It aligns engineering, procurement, and construction and drives construction planning efforts earlier in the project lifecycle, leading to improvements in cost and schedule performance.

A 1-2% investment in the total installed cost of the project has been proven to improve field productivity by up to 25%, resulting in 8-9% net savings. It’s a multi-year and project journey, and there is a maturity curve to realized benefits, but digital AWP project delivery is proven, and there is no excuse for not starting the journey.

Develop a Digital Twin When AWP is implemented programmatically, owners and EPCs can deliver predictable outcomes and purposefully develop a construction digital twin of the asset. Taking advantage of AWP data requirements and digital threads enables projects to integrate their 62

project IT systems into a data-rich and continuously up to date Virtual Construction Model.

A well-integrated and model-centric approach enables the visualization of planned work vs. actual progress vs. as-is conditions with actionable dashboards and analytics. A construction digital twin is a closed feedback loop from the field back to the virtual construction model to enable greater situational awareness and predictability. Digital AWP facilitates continuous handover of data and the development of a construction digital twin that can feed the performance digital twin to drive improvements in reliability in operations over the lifecycle of the asset.

About the Author: Eric Crivella is Director of Business Development for Digital Construction Works, Inc. (DCW). Mr. Crivella is an enterprise software executive with a successful track record of improving productivity and delivering on desired business outcomes with extensive subject matter expertise in AWP / WFP, BIM, and construction automation solutions; making owner operators, EPCs, CMs and constructors safer, effective and more efficient. He has a business degree and minor in MIS from Pennsylvania State University. He currently serves as the Chair of the CII AWP Community of Business Advancement.

About Digital Construction Works: Evaluate a Project’s Complexity: Many construction projects today are in urban, already constructed, and congested areas.

Project workspace is tighter, and budgets and schedules are smaller. The growing intricacy of projects demands more speed and precision in data collection and sharing. The sheer volume of data to track may be a critical factor in creating construction’s digital future, as managers are called on to improve project and firm performance. A digital integrator will help you identify and implement the best processes and technology to automate and optimize your construction operations for improved and predictable project results and for on-time, on-budget project delivery.

The adoption of digital construction helps firms overcome project challenges by improving predictability, transparency, and accountability.

A change to how things are done is required internally or through an outside service provider.

By providing visual insights into every aspect of a project and real-time monitoring capabilities, digital solutions produce more accurate work and eliminate rework, aiding cost reductions, on-time delivery, and profitability.

Digital Construction Works, Inc., (DCW) is a leading services and application and technology integration company enabling the use of digital automated workflows and processes, digital twinning, and fit-for-purpose or prepackaged turn-key solutions to automate and optimize the construction process from planning to design through to operations. DCW is a Bentley Systems and Topcon Positioning Systems joint venture company. www.digitalconstructionworks.com

63

Infrastructure

Leveraging the Value of Silos in the Capital Projects Industry

64

People live within a built environment composed of Civil Infrastructure Systems and Facilities (CISF), which provide the fundamental foundation upon which a society can exist, develop, and survive.

By Jorge A. Vanegas Dean of the College of Architecture, Texas A&M University

65

Infrastructure

T

he Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, as provider and custodian of the life span of CISF, ensures the quality, integrity, and longevity of this foundation. This is possible through the planning, design, procurement, construction, and maintenance of a diverse range of capital projects for public and private sector owners, within a wide range of project stockholders and stakeholders, context, scope, complexity, and risk.

In addition, the primary focus of the industry has been on the management of quality, cost, schedule, and safety, among other indicators and metrics of a capital project; including performance, effectiveness, and efficiency, as reflected by Capital Expenditures (CAPEX), Operating Expenditures (OPEX), and overall Return on Investment (ROI).

Within the capital project execution and delivery processes, the AEC industry brings together a diverse range of organizations (e.g., owners, financial and insurance institutions, regulators), of disciplines (e.g., planners, architects, engineers, construction contractors & subcontractors, users & operators), of resource providers (e.g., manufacturers, vendors, suppliers), of resources (e.g., labor, materials, equipment, technologies).

This requires that the AEC Industry play concurrent roles as a (1) “movie director,” leading and managing the development of strategic, tactical, operational, and practical plans of action, the assembly of the project team, and the acquisition of logistic support; (2) “ballet choreographer,” organizing the stage of operations, and overseeing all aspects of execution; and (3) “symphony conductor,” coordinating roles and responsibilities for all project participants, building on their individual strengths.

However, embedded within this broad and general context for the AEC Industry are multiple, diverse, and ubiquitous silos that reflect some of the

66

critical dimensions of a capital project, and which sometimes are very visible, and other times imperceptible:

(1) Types of stakeholders and stockholders (i.e., federal, state, and local government organizations; international, national, state, and local industry/business organizations; academia from K-12 schools, to college & universities; and non-governmental, philanthropic, faith-based, & secular organizations in communities & society)

(2) Interactions and collaborations among disciplines in practice and academia (i.e., multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, crossdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary)

(3) Discovery and innovation process (i.e., benchmarks & baselines; visions & desired outcomes; research; development; demonstration; deployment; dissemination & knowledge transfer; and evaluation & peer review)

(4) Typologies of capital projects (i.e., by industry sector – residential & nonresidential, industrial & heavy/civil, and mixed-use; and by typology of CISF – greenfield or brownfield; rehabilitation; expansion, upgrade, or retrofit; disaster recovery & reconstruction; historical restoration, reconstruction, or preservation; environmental remediation; decommissioning deconstruction, or demolition)

(5) The life span of a capital project (i.e., planning, design, procurement, construction, commissioning & startup, operations & maintenance, and end-of-service life phases)

67

Infrastructure

(6) Elements of project definition and execution (i.e., business case & plan; site selection; project definition package, project execution plan; team definition; integrated design package; construction production process plan; work breakdown structure & advanced work packaging; commissioning plan; resource procurement plan; and integrated 3-D, financial/cost, time, and production process models)

(7) Performance parameters in the life span of capital projects (i.e., physical & nonphysical contextual compatibility & response, and functional, formal & physical performance; quality & reliability, life span cost, and delivery cycle time performance; safety & security, procurement & constructability, and commissioning, start-up, & turnover So, any effort to break down or eradicate a silo performance; operability, maintainability, tends to be met with resistance to change and, as & security, indoor/outdoor environmental quality, and sustainability performance) a result, fail. Perhaps, a different solution could be to accept silos for what they are and represent, and Silos can have a bad connotation in the AEC industry since they are perceived many concurrently, work with them to better leverage the intrinsic value they have to overcome five problems: times as the cause for slow and onerous procurement processes, fragmented supply (1) People often have no idea of what is going on chains, disparate and sometimes incompatible data and information management systems inside a silo, so we could create “windows” to peer and learn what is going on within it, and become more between project stakeholders, increased aware, understanding, and appreciative of the work, transactional waste, significant inefficiencies, effort, and contribution of the people within the silo. and conflicts among project participants.

(2) When people who are external to a silo need or A commonly stated or expressed solution is to break down or eradicate the silos. want to enter a silo, sometimes there are no precise mechanisms or ways for them to do so. Thus, we However, this is extremely difficult and hard could create “doors” that invite and allow people to to implement because, for many people, enter, see personally, and experience first-hand what silos provide a sense of belonging, of shared is going on. Hence, they gain even more awareness, identity, values, culture, traditions, and of complementary interest, expertise, and understanding, and appreciation of the people's work, effort, and contribution within the silo. specialization, in a similar way to what a “tribe” provides to its members.

68

(3) When people need or want to reach and communicate with their counterparts across silos, mechanisms or ways to do so may not be apparent or may be lacking, so we could create “bridges” to strengthen and enhance interactions, collaborations, and exchanges.

(4) Vertical mobility within an organizational hierarchy may lack a clear pathway and may be slow, so we could create “stairs” so that people know the path from an entry or mid-level position to the executive level within and across silos.

(5) Not everyone wants to be seen working with people from other silos, so we could create “tunnels” that connect the silos to facilitate communications and interactions in ways that may not always be apparent to others.

In closing, protecting and connecting silos can create a dynamic eco-system of interrelationships between them. This protection can strengthen, enhance, complement, supplement, and transcend each silo, adding value to the AEC industry, which has been untapped and not fully realized to date.

69

Users

70

Carbon offsets: compliance or opportunity?

By Energy Capital www.energycapitalmedia.com

The carbon neutrality goal, or net-zero, commits governments and industries to address their whole emissions package through an equivalent amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions removals or compensations.

F

or example, governments and companies can invest in carbon capture and storage solutions or invest in a renewable energy facility to substitute fossil fuel-fired generation plants.

They can also buy clean energy from a third party, known as Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in the US, or, finally, they can invest in carbon offsets.

Carbon offsets are an investment for renewable energy somewhere around the world; such energy would cancel out, or compensate for the buyer’s GHG 71

Users

emissions. The money invested in those offsets supports green energy projects, whether it is from renewable generation, methane capture, sustainable farms, or even companies that procure forest rehabilitation, aimed at carbon dioxide absorption.

Therefore, businesses pay to outsource their emissions reductions rather than doing so in-house.

Carbon offsets, however, can represent a paradox. On one hand, they offer companies a cost-effective tool to reduce net emissions in an evolving carbon-constrained economy. On the other, their critics argue that offsets do little to drive innovations for companies to meet the required levels of reduction (50-80% reduction in GHG needed by 2050).

Despite their drawbacks, carbon offsets are creating the most complex commodity market in history and should not be ignored. More importantly, it is crucial to know the factors enabling companies to do this transition and their reasons. Is it just because they have to be compliant or because they see an opportunity for both their users and themselves?

72

Shell & Amazon The net-zero target is complex to achieve by governments alone; in this regard, the target requires support from the industrial sector, businesses, and communities alike.

Thus, a wide range of industrial activities have committed to carbon neutrality, from energy to retail, transportation, food and beverage, and automotive.

That’s why many industry players aren’t tackling the issue alone; in fact, almost all of them are establishing partnerships with energy companies to stablish baselines from which they leverage their neutrality goals.

Such is the case of Shell and Amazon.

In early February 2021, the oil major signed an agreement with retail giant Amazon. Specifically, the partnership is between Shell Energy Europe BV and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The agreement considers the offtake

by AWS from a subsidy-free offshore

wind farm being constructed off the coasts of The Netherlands. The wind complex will be operated by the CrossWind consortium, a joint venture between Shell and Eneco.

By the project’s completion, expected by 2024, AWS will offtake 250 megawatts from Shell and 130 MW from Eneco, for a total of 380 MW; which will power Amazon Web Services operations, pushing them one step closer to their objective of a 100% renewable powered by 2025.

It is essential to underline that this agreement is for a PPA, which considers the direct supply of renewable energy for company’s operations, unlike what happened with Dominion Energy and Facebook, in early January 2021.

Dominion, Invenergy & Facebook Back then, the Virginia-based energy company signed a long-term agreement for renewable energy credits with the social media behemoth. The deal contemplates acquiring a 150 MW solar facility in Hardin County, Ohio, by Dominion from Invenergy.

Such amount of power will be injected into the state’s grid and will allow Facebook to acquire the renewable energy credits for the same amount, as compensation. This is known as a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement and enables companies to compensate their carbon footprint by funding renewable energy projects instead of using the energy themselves.

Enel Green Power & Clorox Company Clorox Company achieved one of its goals with this same scheme, in late January 2021. Then, the company announced it had reached a 100% renewable electricity for its American and Canadian operations, four years earlier than initially planned.

The deal was signed with Enel Green Power and its Roadrunner Solar project 73

Users

in Texas. Clorox committed to buying from the complex 70 MW of renewable energy every year, for twelve years. This would be the amount of energy equivalent to Clorox’s historical electricity consumption in the region.

By buying such amount of energy, the company compensates its carbon footprint in the U.S and Canada, which is approximately of 180,000 metric tons of CO2 each year. With this transaction, Clorox funds and allows Enel Green Power to produce green energy for nearly 30,000 American homes each year.

Although the virtual power purchase agreement does not imply the actual cease of emissions, it creates a carbon market, needed to fund renewable energy projects.

RWE & American Honda Motor Company Among the companies that do buy and operate with renewable energy, is the American Honda Motor Company, which, back in 2019, signed a Power Purchase Agreement for twelve years with RWE. The contract contemplates the procurement of 120 MW from the Boiling Springs Wind Farm, in Woodward County, Oklahoma, to the carmaker for its operations in America. This offtake is one of the largest-ever renewable energy purchases, in the US, by the automotive industry.

BP & Finite Carbon Another example of decarbonization efforts by the industry is the acquisition of a majority stake in Finite Carbon, North America’s most prominent developer of forest carbon offsets, by oil major BP. In December 2020, Finite Carbon announced the agreement in which BP would bring the firm into its in-house business accelerator, BP Launchpad.

With this, Finite Carbon would expand onto new 74

geographical markets and advance its forest restoration portfolio while also supporting efforts to restore, maintain, and enhance biodiversity.

Enabling factors According to 2020 information from the Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) organization, the most critical elements to consider by companies that use carbon offsets are fixed costs, market research, and the design and administration of a corporate carbon offset program.

It is also essential for users to understand a carbon offset provider’s basic profile and examine its relative strengths, based on critical traits such as experience, headquarters, project locations, and types of projects offered.

Furthermore, users should assess what carbon offset they purchase; energy efficiency, renewable energy, methane capture and destruction, biological sequestration, and biomass solutions.

In the same way, the goals companies establish to implement a successful carbon offset practice are crucial.

For instance, those companies that are experienced in setting clear goals for their offsetting (just offsetting real emissions, evaluating their GHGs constantly, assuring the legitimacy of the practice through reports and followups) prove to obtain better results.

The latter has also turned into a better brand-reception since several offsetting organizations are frequently accused of “greenwashing.” That’s why

BSR also identified four-key principles to lower the criticism towards carbon offsets: they have to be permanent, verifiable, synchronic, and enforceable.

Overall, companies that have these traits are the ones most engaged with carbon offsetting.

Opportunity or compliance?

Not everyone agrees that carbon offsets accomplish the net-zero and carbon neutrality goals. Several detractors often say offsets distract companies and governments from developing real solutions.

Furthermore, some critics argue these solutions give polluters license to continue polluting.

In this sense, many worry the programs are an excuse for not to take stricter measures to curb climate change. That’s why many companies have been subject to “greenwashing” criticism, since, if not done right, the purchase of offsets can act more like a marketing campaign than as a real solution.

For these reasons, and given the social pressure within our growing carbonpriced and carbon-constrained economy, several companies are taking actions to remain competitive and fundingattractive. However, carbon offset projects aren’t all created equal, and the concept may not be a solution for every company.

In this regard, firms should consider carbon offsets as an innovation and creative opportunity. According to experts, purchasing carbon offsets “is clearly better than doing nothing,” and organizations should try it even more, if they have tried everything else to reduce their emissions and pollute less in the past.

Therefore, carbon offsets can help finance emerging green practices, technologies, and services and might be essential, in the long term, to force carbon-polluting industries to become a bit more creative. Furthermore, for providers, the carbon offset market entails a bright future of development and prosperity, in which they’re the main drivers.

75

Women in Energy Donya Mansoubi Communications Manager, Invenergy

The Women Behind America’s Largest Solar Energy Center At Invenergy, we are innovators building a sustainable world. Since 2001, the company has been a driving force in the energy industry, identifying global energy challenges early and often, and bringing unique solutions to the customers and communities we serve.

T

he 1,310-megawatt Samson Solar Energy Center,poised to be the largest solar energy center in the United States upon completion, is the latest example of Invenergy’s bold vision. A $1.6 billion capital investment, the record-setting project redefines sustainability – bringing a record number of leading consumer businesses together to support their energy goals while supplying clean, cost-effective and reliable power to the grid.

Not only does this project break industry records, but it is also being led by an allwoman team of trailblazers. At the helm of this team are Invenergy developers Bristi Cure and April Christensen and project manager Kate Woodson.

76

Bristi Cure, Director of Renewable Energy Development, and April Christensen, Manager of Renewable Energy Development, led the development of the project. For the past few years, they have been working tirelessly to execute land agreements, build relationships with landowners, local governments, and other stakeholders, and ensure all aspects of the project progress smoothly and on schedule.

Christensen has been leading the contingent of internal team members and external vendors to get the project construction ready.

“Engaged landowners and supportive rural communities are the foundation of any large-scale renewable energy project,” says Christensen. “By providing another revenue stream to local farmers and ranchers, we are helping to support the local agricultural economy. Having come from a rural farming

THE SUCCESSFUL EXECUTION OF A PROJECT OF THIS MAGNITUDE IS AN EXCITING PROCESS, NOT WITHOUT ITS CHALLENGES. BEING AN INTEGRAL PART OF A WOMEN LED, GROUNDBREAKING SOLAR PROJECT HAS SURELY BEEN A CAREER HIGHLIGHT Kate Woodson, Senior Project Manager, Invenergy.

77

Women in Energy

THE 1,310-MEGAWATT SAMSON SOLAR ENERGY CENTER, POISED TO BE THE LARGEST SOLAR ENERGY CENTER IN THE UNITED STATES UPON COMPLETION, IS THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF INVENERGY’S BOLD VISION. NOT ONLY DOES THIS PROJECT BREAK INDUSTRY RECORDS, BUT IT IS ALSO BEING LED BY AN ALL-WOMAN TEAM OF TRAILBLAZERS.

background myself, this impact is what I am most proud of.”

Samson Solar represents an unprecedented economic development opportunity, creating jobs and delivering economic benefits to the home communities of Red River, Lamar, and Franklin Counties, which together have a population of roughly 73,000 people.

Developing a project of this scale takes years of hard work before it is ready for construction to commence. In summer of 2020, Invenergy broke ground on the first phase of the Samson Solar project, at which point Kate Woodson, Senior Project Manager, took the reins. Responsible for all things construction, Woodson—who has also been with the company for about five years— oversees the management of contractors, engineering partners, and equipment suppliers to ensure the smooth, safe and successful completion of the project. She manages a large team of both Invenergy colleagues and 78

BY PROVIDING ANOTHER REVENUE STREAM TO LOCAL FARMERS AND RANCHERS, WE ARE HELPING TO SUPPORT THE LOCAL AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY. HAVING COME FROM A RURAL FARMING BACKGROUND MYSELF, THIS IMPACT IS WHAT I AM MOST PROUD OF, April Christensen, Manager of Renewable Energy Development, Invenergy.

Video Interview external contractors to ensure the smooth and successful construction of the project.

“The successful execution of a project of this magnitude is an exciting process, not without its challenges,” says Woodson. “Being an integral part of a women led, groundbreaking solar project has surely been a career highlight.”

The efforts of these women and so many others at Invenergy will deliver an industrydefining project. Samson Solar boasts eight partners who have executed power purchase agreements (PPA), including leading global brands AT&T, McDonald’s, Honda, Google, and The Home Depot, in addition to local Texas municipalities.

The project will span 18,000 acres, which, as The Wall Street Journal pointed out, is more than 13,000 football fields, and will generate enough electricity to power 300,000 American homes.

Over the life of the project, an estimated $450 million will be directly invested in the local economy. Residents will benefit in multiple ways, including lease payments to participating landowners and new tax revenues.

Invenergy is excited to bring this project to fruition and could not have gotten to where we are today without our extraordinary woman-led team and many others. This is a group of exceptional individuals and exceptional communities, working together to realize the most ambitious solar project in American history.

Donya Mansoubi is Manager, Communications, at Invenergy, where she oversees communications and social/digital media strategy to advance Invenergy's business and policy goals both in the U.S. and internationally.

79

Interview

Kymberly Butts, P.E. Chief Engineer, Zachry Group & Chair ECC Executive Board www.ecc-conference.org

53 Years of Championing Progress in Capital Projects: ECC 1968 – 2021 The Association for the Capital Projects Engineering & Construction Community [ECC] has a rich history of bringing executives and thought leaders together to collaborate in an open and transparent environment.

ECC and its first conference in 1968 arose out of a need to address rapid changes in the global economy and capital project industry. ECC realized to effectively tackle the challenges facing the industry they needed to bring together a diverse group of decision makers from Owner, Contractor and Supplier companies.

80

S

enior executives from leading organizations in the capital projects industry serve on the Executive Board of Directors to advance the mission of the ECC to promote thought leadership. Serving in a voluntary capacity, these industry executives plan the annual ECC programs to help leaders discover new perspectives, explore today’s biggest challenges and to drive excellence and long-term success of the industry.

Flash forward 50+ years and the strong relationships, fresh perspectives and key insights that have arisen from this discussion platform continue today.

There have been many pressing issues explored over the years from US dependency on oil imports in the 1970s to an engineering deficit in 1980 to the global effect of Asia-Pacific fuel quality in 1997 and the impact of the ongoing COVID pandemic, but one common theme has resounded throughout - the industry is constantly TRANSFORMING. Newly appointed ECC Board Chair, Kymberly Butts believes in the power of transformation. Like the

Interview

THE INDUSTRY AND THE ECC WILL CONTINUE TO EVOLVE, LEVERAGING DIGITIZATION AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO FORM THE BASIS OF OUR FUTURE. SUCCESS WILL DEPEND ON HOW WE TRANSFORM TO MEET THESE DEMANDS. Kymberly Butts, ECC Board Chair

81

Interview

industry, the ECC Association continues to pivot and evolve. As a response to the pandemic, the ECC held its first virtual conference last year leveraging technology to provide the preeminent experience that attendees have come to expect from the ECC in a virtual platform. “The industry and the ECC will continue to evolve, leveraging digitization and innovative technologies to form the basis of our future. Success will depend on how we transform to meet these demands,” stated Butts.

The ECC is rising to this challenge with their newly established Academic and Workforce Development Committee [AWDC]. The AWDC focuses primarily on craft skill and professional development as enablers of project success by fostering tighter collaboration between industry and high schools, universities, and trade schools. Another aspect of ECC’s recent evolution is partnering with industry associations 82

Interview

WHEN YOU ARE OPERATING ON THE EDGE OF UNCERTAINTY, QUESTIONS REALLY ARE THE ANSWER

Hal Gregersen, Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Innovation at MIT

like CII and CURT for increased capital efficiency, connectivity, and content.

ECC past keynote speaker and Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Innovation at MIT, Hal Gregersen said it perfectly “When you are operating on the edge of uncertainty, questions really are the answer.” This global pandemic has caused disruption and upheaval within every organization. The need to reassess how we deliver in the short-term and position ourselves to meet future needs is now more important than ever. How do we deliver improved efficiency and innovation with reduced resources? How do we create effective leadership and incorporate diverse thoughts to creatively tackle these challenges?

These questions and more will be addressed by world-class keynote speakers at the 2021 Annual ECC Conference, September 8-11, at Gaylord National in National Harbor, MD. The premier annual conference features workshops, breakout sessions, networking opportunities and ECC’s widely acclaimed Future Leader Program designed to engage and help grow the leaders of tomorrow.

Navigating the reality of life today, the Board is planning for an in-person conference in the fall with all the required safety and social distancing measures considered, but they are poised to pivot as needed. “Throughout ECC’s history in championing progress in the ever-changing capital projects industry, ECC remains true to promoting thought leadership and growing the rich relationships of the ECC community. We hope you will join us at the premier ECC conference as we focus on Performing While Transforming: Executing Now, Evolving for Tomorrow and explore how we as leaders will shape the future together, “ Butts concluded.

To learn more about the ECC, visit ECC Association | Who We Are (ecc-conference.org) 83

Interview Tom Krikke Director of EMEA and Oil & Gas, Hiber Global

Hiber Hilo: an innovative solution for remote wellhead monitoring For most wellhead operators worldwide, several technologies for remote asset monitoring aren’t reliable enough since they can’t be installed everywhere. Only the highest producers can afford the most advanced technologies, and even in those cases, not all products are really affordable or simple enough to be installed everywhere.

84

O

n the other hand, for most operators, manual wellhead monitoring can cause incidents; and secondly, they also cost considerable amounts of money. For instance, travels to remote wells can cost thousands of dollars.

Furthermore, when you got your crew outside, the data that they’ll be capturing in that well is typically going to be unreliable. Indeed, at least 5-10% of all manual data is wrong. So practically 90% of the time, you’re blind.

Nevertheless, Amsterdam-based Hiber Global has developed a simple, innovative, and affordable solution for remote oil and gas pressure and temperature monitoring at wellheads: the Hiber Hilo.

“At Hiber, we developed a wellhead monitoring solution that can be installed on any wellhead around the globe, no matter how remote that well is. It is connected to our satellite network. We also aimed to make it as simple as possible. So, you don’t need many complex materials,” says Tom Krikke, Director of EMEA and Oil & Gas, Hiber Global.

Interview

AT HIBER, WE DEVELOPED A WELLHEAD MONITORING SOLUTION THAT CAN BE INSTALLED ON ANY WELLHEAD AROUND THE GLOBE, NO MATTER HOW REMOTE THAT WELL IS. IT IS CONNECTED TO OUR SATELLITE NETWORK. WE ALSO AIMED TO MAKE IT AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE.

Video Interview

Regarding the problems derived from manual wellhead monitoring – including safety and data reliability issues -, Mr. Krikke said the Hiber Hilo also looks to address those concerns: “What we can do, especially for those wells that are in remote areas, is that we can reduce the number of trips significantly. That means an improvement in safety and costs, but also your data quality.

Compared with traditional monitoring technologies, which are often complicated to use, the Hiber Hilo delivers out-of-the-box and straightforward solutions to its users.

“The traditional communication options – wiring, point-to-point radio, micro-links, and even several satellite technologies – are expensive, difficult to install, and still not scalable. However, we’ve been able to make that to be more comfortable. Thus, we’ve designed

85

Interview

everything to be satellite-connected from the beginning. Therefore, from the moment you open up the box to install something, it’s done.

Hiber Hilo has also accelerated the installation process, which, according to Mr. Krikke, could previously take several hours, if not days: “With this new technology, we’ve done installations that would previously take days, and we can do that now within an hour or two.”

With the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the oil and gas industry – and, to all industries alike – safety and health concerns are currently at the forefront: “Just gathering people next to a well has become even more complex because of COVID. So, every team is looking to improve their teams’ safety. And a lot of that can be done by automating monitoring, which you can do with Hiber Hilo,” noted Mr. Krikke.

The configuration options of Hiber Hilo are also crucial since, as Mr. Krikke said, the industry currently needs technologies that can be set-up for their situations. In this regard, “Hiber Hilo works like a menu, where you have several options, and finally, you can put and choose what you want.”

86

Interview

JUST GATHERING PEOPLE NEXT TO A WELL HAS BECOME EVEN MORE COMPLEX BECAUSE OF COVID. SO, EVERY TEAM IS LOOKING TO IMPROVE THEIR TEAMS’ SAFETY. AND A LOT OF THAT CAN BE DONE

BY AUTOMATING MONITORING, WHICH YOU CAN DO WITH HIBER HILO.

Finally, Mr. Krikke recalled the reasons behind Hiber’s decision to develop the Hiber Hilo: “We saw a niche since we have a strong presence in satellite communications. And we noticed several of our customers were in the oil and gas space, and those were customers that wanted to monitor their wells.”

Therefore, “instead of building a customed product for each of them, or asking someone external to do that, we noticed this was an upand-coming area for us to build something inhouse,” Mr. Krikke concluded.

87

Interview Jorge Vanegas Dean of the College of Architecture, Texas A&M University.

Breaking down the silo mentality: make your capital projects successful Management groups, corporations, or capital projects need many elements to become successful. Some of them do not necessarily have to do with capital itself, or funding, or other financial issues, but human.

T

he human factor can make a project successful, or not, according to expert Jorge Vanegas, Dean of the College of Architecture, Texas A&M University. And one of those is the silo mentality, a practice that, in his words, "occurs when departments or management groups do not share information."

In interview with Energy Capital, he talked extensively about the importance of breaking down the silo mentality and its implications upon personnel, corporate culture, and productivity.

Energy Capital: What is the silo mentality?

Jorge Vanegas: The silo mentality is an organizational way of thinking. It occurs when departments or management groups do not share information, goals, tools, priorities, and processes with other departments. Silo mentality has profound implications on a project. It is believed to impact operations, reduce employee morale, and contribute to a company's overall failure on its products and culture.

EC: Why do you think silos have such a bad connotation across several industries, particularly for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) and capital projects sector?

88

Interview

SILO MENTALITY HAS PROFOUND IMPLICATIONS ON A PROJECT. IT IS BELIEVED TO IMPACT OPERATIONS, REDUCE EMPLOYEE MORALE, AND CONTRIBUTE TO A COMPANY'S OVERALL FAILURE ON ITS PRODUCTS AND CULTURE.

89

Interview

JV: Silos are perceived as the cause for slow procurement processes with burdensome amounts of effort and difficulty. They fragment supply chains and make disparate and incompatible data between a project's stakeholders. They can really mislead information management systems. They also increase transactional waste levels and provoke significant inefficiencies, conflicts, and disputes among a project's participants.

EC: What would be the consequences of breaking down such mentality or eradicating silos as a corporate practice?

JV: Organizational silos, in a similar way to what a "tribe" provides to its members, provide a sense of belonging, shared identity, traditions, complementary interest, expertise, and specialization. So, any effort to break down or eradicate a silo tends to be met with resistance.

EC: What problems could be solved by implementing communication and integrating mechanisms between the silos and the AEC industry?

JV: The capital projects industry, through the implementation of communication and integrating mechanisms between and among silos, has the potential to solve the lack of awareness and understanding, and low levels of respect, trust and confidence among personnel (including individuals, disciplines, teams, and organizations).

It also helps to resolve high levels of conflict and litigation; high levels of waste as a result of inefficiencies; errors, also unnecessary duplications, and omissions caused by poor communication. Overall, it resolves the lack of 90

integration; high levels of risk, and the project's low effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity.

EC: Why do you think the AEC and capital projects industry must leverage silos?

JV: By leveraging the intrinsic capacity and value of silos, the capital projects industry, through the implementation of communication and integrating mechanisms between and among silos, has the potential to increase awareness and understanding of the full scope of what each silo can offer to each other.

Also, to increase levels of respect, trust, and confidence, while reducing conflicts among the personnel.

Besides, it reduces or eliminates waste due to inefficiencies, errors, unnecessary duplications, and omissions caused by poor communication, mitigating risks, and increasing the project's effectiveness and productivity.

Interview

EC: What could silos do on their end to be better integrated into organizational structures?

IT IS ESSENTIAL TO ALLOW PRIVATE COMMUNICATION AND MOBILITY ACROSS SILOS TO ENABLE ORGANIZATIONAL AWARENESS AND A SENSE OF OWNERSHIP THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT'S MEMBERS.

JV: One key factor is to allow outsiders to look into the silo to see what is going on inside; simultaneously, to enable insiders to look outside. This would create windows and allow mobility of its members. It is like the building of doors. In the same way, the creation of "stairs" and "tunnels" is essential. In other words, it allows vertical communication and mobility throughout the different levels of hierarchy, both within and across the silo.

Finally, it is essential to allow private communication and mobility across silos to enable organizational awareness and a sense of ownership throughout the project's members.

91

Doing Business

92

The First Energy Community Connecting Canada, the United States, and Mexico

By ISME Media Contact: Wilma Martinez info@NorthAmericanEnergy.org

93

Doing Business

H

OUSTON - The US-based nonprofit International Society for Mexico Energy (ISME) recently introduced NorthAmericanEnergy.org, the first online energy community connecting Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

“The economic recovery from COVID will be hard and likely long. We see an opportunity for companies, organizations, and professionals to accelerate their business recovery by being more integrated -as a community,” said ISME’s president, Noé H. Sáenz.

“NorthAmericanEnergy.org is an online community for industry, government, and academic leaders of the three countries interested in being part of an ongoing North American energy dialogue,” said Karla Mendoza, ISME’s public affairs director.

“Since its founding, ISME’s mission has been to build bridges between Mexico and the energy world.

This community is a great permanent platform where everyone can contribute and be recognized,” said ISME’s vice-president, Andrea Calo.

“Imagine companies and professionals finding each other based on their area(s) of expertise 94

and learning about events and opportunities in one single place,” said ISME’s trilateral supply chain committee chair, Sandy Basler.

Join the community alongside leading professionals and companies like ATCO, Baker McKenzie, Burns & McDonnell, EDF Renewables, Emerson, IEnova, Roxtec, Kiewit, North American Development Bank, among others, at www.NorthAmericanEnergy.org

ABOUT ISME The US-based nonprofit association that has been providing a permanent neutral space for international industry, governments, and academia for networking and education across Mexico’s energy sectors: upstream, midstream, downstream, and electricity.

Since mid-2020, ISME has been broadening its mission to the North American Energy region, having started its successful trilateral webinar series and published the paper “Integrating a North American Energy Community” available at ISMexicoEnergy.org 95