By Lee Hyun-mo
Energy experts in the world are eyeing the 28th World Gas Conference which will be held in Daegu Metropolitan City this month. This is because the world is suffering from inflation as energy prices, including that of natural gas, have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The World Gas Conference is scheduled to be held at EXCO in Daegu from May 23 to 27 and global energy companies that both supply and consume natural gas will make up the majority of participants.
High-level representatives from major multinationals including ExxonMobil, Shell, British Petroleum, Total Energy, and Qatar Energy will diagnose the current situation, share insights and discuss ways to address the current energy crisis.
The conference is hosted by the International Gas Union whose member companies provide more than 90 percent of the world's natural gas.
Up until recently their priorities have been focused on the role of natural gas in the era of energy transition as well as the role of renewable energy in the new energy mix. However, at this conference, addressing the issue of "energy security" will take priority over other agenda items as the war in Ukraine continues.
European countries including Germany, which have suffered the most, have not found suitable measures to deal with current energy security issues other than having a plan for the continent to begin progressively phasing out Russian energy imports.
What is worse, it seems that these countries are even finding an alternative in coal which is their least favorite fossil fuel. How contradictory is this policy? The biggest problem is that they are heavily dependent on energy imports from Russia.
Germany, in particular, had been importing around 55 percent of its natural gas from Russia until the outbreak of the war. Korea also needs to diversify its energy sources in order to avoid an energy crisis in the future. In this context, the policy of Korea's new administration is also focusing on energy security.
Considering the above points, the agenda items to be addressed at the World Gas Conference are worth noting for not only energy experts but also the general public, because we are all now impacted by high energy prices.
We look forward to seeing you in Daegu next week and hope this conference will broaden your understanding of global energy issues especially from a natural gas perspective.
Lee Hyun-mo is director of World Gas Conference (WGC) Support Division for Daegu City.
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The World Gas Conference is scheduled to be held at EXCO in Daegu from May 23 to 27 and global energy companies that both supply and consume natural gas will make up the majority of participants.
High-level representatives from major multinationals including ExxonMobil, Shell, British Petroleum, Total Energy, and Qatar Energy will diagnose the current situation, share insights and discuss ways to address the current energy crisis.
The conference is hosted by the International Gas Union whose member companies provide more than 90 percent of the world's natural gas.
Up until recently their priorities have been focused on the role of natural gas in the era of energy transition as well as the role of renewable energy in the new energy mix. However, at this conference, addressing the issue of "energy security" will take priority over other agenda items as the war in Ukraine continues.
European countries including Germany, which have suffered the most, have not found suitable measures to deal with current energy security issues other than having a plan for the continent to begin progressively phasing out Russian energy imports.
What is worse, it seems that these countries are even finding an alternative in coal which is their least favorite fossil fuel. How contradictory is this policy? The biggest problem is that they are heavily dependent on energy imports from Russia.
Germany, in particular, had been importing around 55 percent of its natural gas from Russia until the outbreak of the war. Korea also needs to diversify its energy sources in order to avoid an energy crisis in the future. In this context, the policy of Korea's new administration is also focusing on energy security.
Considering the above points, the agenda items to be addressed at the World Gas Conference are worth noting for not only energy experts but also the general public, because we are all now impacted by high energy prices.
We look forward to seeing you in Daegu next week and hope this conference will broaden your understanding of global energy issues especially from a natural gas perspective.
Lee Hyun-mo is director of World Gas Conference (WGC) Support Division for Daegu City.
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