‘FUTURE OF GULF COAST REFINING’
FOCUS OF UPCOMING UH-GEMI CONFERENCE
Despite the impact of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the Gulf Coast
will remain the country’s refining hub because it has the
best economics, logistical infrastructure and favorable political
climate, according to one University of Houston professor.
Just how the region can maintain its dominance will be the subject
of a Nov. 3 conference hosted by UH’s Global Energy Management
Institute (UH-GEMI) and Executive Professor Stephen Arbogast. The
event will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1200 Louisiana
St.
“Gulf Coast refining faces two major challenges,” Arbogast
said. “The first is to build sufficient new refining capacity
to service a growing U.S. economy. Industry is enjoying record profits,
and some are wondering why more firms aren’t expanding their
plants. The second challenge is to limit U.S. dependency on foreign-refined
product imports, so that we are not overly exposed to a supply disruption
and/or high prices. Beyond these concerns, industry also faces the
need to adapt to greater supplies of hard-to-run crude oils and
the opportunity to employ new technologies that might enable refiners
to also manufacture biofuels.”
Presenters for “The Future of Gulf Coast Refining”
conference include Steve Pryor, president of ExxonMobil Refining
and Supply Company; Michael Pacheco, executive director of the National
Renewable Research Laboratory; and Maryam Sabbaghian, staff director
Congressional Subcommittee on Energy & Minerals.
For more information about the conference or to register, go to
https://www.bauer.uh.edu/UHGEMI/
Forms/refining06.htm.
WHAT: |
The Future of Gulf Coast Refining |
WHO: |
UH-GEMI |
WHEN: |
Friday, Nov. 3, 2006
8:45 a.m. Keynote: Condition
of Gulf Coast Refinery Industry (GCRI) 'Structural Improvement
or Cyclical Upturn
9:30 a.m. U.S. Refining Capacity
and the Case for New Investment: Competitive Challenges facing
GCRI within a Resilient Global Industry
10:30 a.m. Changing
Refining Fundamentals and their implications for new GCRI
investment
11:15 a.m. An Outside Perspective:
Challenges GCRI may fail to address & strategies to respond
1 p.m. Luncheon Address: “The
GCRI’s possible future role manufacturing Biofuels”
2 p.m. Refining Technology Frontiers
Panel – Cracking, catalysis, coal/gas conversion and
possible competing technologies from outside refining
3 p.m. Refining and Public Policy
Panel: the legislative policy towards the refining industry
and implication of upcoming elections
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WHERE: |
Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1200 Louisiana St. |
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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