Editorial comment
June 2018 is an important month for a couple of reasons.
First and foremost is the long awaited return of the FIFA World Cup. Russia is playing host to 32 nations competing for the biggest prize in football. This year’s competition kicks off on 14 June, when Russia play Saudi Arabia in Moscow. 64 matches in total will be played across 11 different cities, with the world champions being crowned a month later on 14 July. The FIFA World Cup is, arguably, the biggest and most prestigious sporting event on the planet.
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Needless to say I am excited – a sentiment that is shared by most in the office. I am not holding out much hope for England, but I can dream. There isn’t the usual level of confident hysteria in the build-up to this competition and perhaps that is a good thing as previous England sides, much stronger than this year’s crop, have failed to deliver the goods. There does remain a very small part of me however that believes, if lady luck shines on our inexperienced and largely underwhelming team, the trophy might just be coming home. In reality, we will most likely stumble through the group stage battered and bruised before falling at the first knockout hurdle with a whimper, but I can dream...
June is also an exciting month for the LNG industry. Many from the industry, myself included, will be spending a week in Washington for the World Gas Conference, the world’s largest global gas event. The gathering of influential leaders, policy-makers, buyers, sellers, and experts has been conducted since 1931 by the International Gas Union. In true World Cup fashion, the event has a global appeal, with some 12 000 participants arriving from more than 100 countries.
The 27th World Gas Conference takes place from 25 – 29 June and is hosting over 600 of the industry’s most senior speakers from all over the world. The star-studded line-up includes US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, and CEOs from global companies including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Qatar Petroleum, BP, Total, ConocoPhillips, Shell, and more. A preview of a selection of exhibiting companies can be found towards the back of this issue (p. 74).
It will be my first visit to Washington, and any recommendations are very welcome. We have a Segway tour lined up to take in all of the major sights, and my priorities are the Mall, the White House, and the Lincoln Memorial, in no particular order. I’m sure there are a number of less well-trodden delights so please enlighten me.
In terms of keeping up with the World Cup, I’m confident there will be plenty of spots to indulge after a busy day at the conference. In the absence of the US national team from this year’s competition, I expect our colleagues from across the pond will be supporting the Three Lions, surely?
The 27th World Gas Conference marks the first time that the event will be held in a country that is both the world’s largest gas consumer and producer. This month’s issue therefore has the US in mind with regional report contributions from the Economist Intelligence Unit and Cheniere looking at what we can expect from the US LNG industry in the near-future. Elsewhere in the issue we feature comment on LNG as a transportation fuel, gas pretreatment, valves, and more. If you are in attendance in Washington, please visit the LNG Industry team at stand 958, we look forward to meeting you!
