NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2006

Contact: Angie Joe
713.743.8153 (office)
713.617.7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu
‘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
WHERE: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1200 Louisiana St.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.