Convenience Big Store: What to know as CERAWeek kicks off today

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Conference attendees are silhouetted against a big screen projector in the Plenary Americas after an executive session during CERAweek 2023, held at the Hilton Americas and George R. Brown Convention center Monday, March 6, 2023 in Houston.

Photo by: Michael Wyke(Contributor)

Energy's Super Bowl

Thousands of people from around the world are expected to gather in downtown Houston this week for what is informally known as the "Super Bowl of energy."

The annual CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in downtown Houston shines a spotlight on the future of energy as competing technologies and politics shape a winding path forward in the fight against climate change. This year's event will explore "strategies for a multidimensional, multispeed and multifuel energy transition."

What will the energy industry look like in 2050? If the past is evidence of what's to come, we can expect surprises, said Daniel Yergin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning energy historian and the primary host of the annual event, during a sit-down with reporter James Osborne.

Stay tuned as we cover the event, which features speakers such as Jennifer Granholm, the Secretary of Energy; Darren Woods, chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil; Bill Gates, philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft.; Vicki Hollub, CEO of Occidental Petroleum; and a host of other corporate and government leaders from around the world.

Amanda Drane, Energy Reporter

amanda.drane@houstonchronicle.com

More energy news

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Ganholm speaks at CERAWeek by S&P Global Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at Hilton-Americas in Houston.

Photo by: Yi-Chin Lee/Staff Photographer

Biden admin will face tough crowd at CERAWeek

Oil companies and the Biden administration have been at odds for years over issues including climate change, electric vehicles and offshore oil and gas drilling.

Attendees pass by a CERAWeek display in the Agora-Innovation space during CERAweek 2023, held at the Hilton Americas and George R. Brown Convention center Monday, March 6, 2023 in Houston.

Photo by: Michael Wyke, Contributor

Climate change talk grows at Houston's largest energy conference

A separate Climate Hub within CERAWeek's Innovation Agora, which will focus on energy innovation and emerging technologies, has grown 25% since its inception last year.

Majid Jafar, chief executive officer of Crescent Petroleum Co., right, gives Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and president of COP28, center, a scarf in the colours of the United Arab Emirates national flag during the Summit on Methane and Other Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases on day three of the COP28 climate conference at Expo City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. More than 70,000 politicians, diplomats, campaigners, financiers and business leaders will fly to Dubai to talk about arresting the world's slide toward environmental catastrophe. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Hollie Adams

Photo by: Hollie Adams, Bloomberg

Methane emissions from global energy sector near all-time high

The International Energy Agency said emissions could drop sharply if corporations and governments keep their COP28 commitments.

Fervo Energy, a Houston geothermal startup, is developing a Utah geothermal project known as Cape Station.

Photo by: Courtesy Of Fervo Energy

Geothermal energy may be hot topic again at Houston's biggest energy conference

Companies, the Department of Energy and climate groups hope 2024 CERAWeek will mark a boom in geothermal's commercialization.

Aurora Champion does her part as her parents help a friend whose home was destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek fire on March 03, 2024 in Stinnett, Texas.

Photo by: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Texas utilities lack regulation for wildfire prevention, experts say

Texas has minimal regulations for utilities operating in the state as it relates to wildfire mitigation, unlike other states with a wildfire problem such as California, experts said.

An oil pumpjack outside of Odessa, Texas on Sunday, April 26, 2020.

Photo by: Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer

US oil production in 2023 set new world records

The Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico is the largest oil-producing region in the country, accounting for roughly 40% of all U.S. crude oil production.

Texas experienced the most power outages of any state in the country from 2019 to 2023, according to a new report from Payless Power.

Photo by: Jason Fochtman/Staff Photographer

Texas ranks first in power outages in last 5 years, report finds

Texas has experienced 263 power outages since 2019, more than any other state, according to a report based on Department of Energy data.

Plastic and other waste is visible along Buffalo Bayou in downtown Houston.

Photo by: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer

LyondellBasell, others back talks on federal plastic recycling fee

Industry backs bipartisan effort on creation of a federal fee on packaging materials to reduce plastic waste in the environment.

The tonnes of methane emitted from the production and use of fossil fuels in 2023, nearing an all-time high, according to the International Energy Agency.

Photo by: Lauren Mitchell

What We're Reading

He's a renewable-power billionaire, not an environmentalist. Invenergy founder Michael Polsky created the largest U.S. private renewable energy developer from scratch and says politics should get out of energy, the Wall Street Journal reports.