Houston Energy Dialogues: Executive Summary

On March 28, 2017, Shell and Energy Dialogues LLC co-hosted an event in which participants from across the oil and gas sector engaged in discussions that centered on three themes: economy, environment, and coalition-building.

“Economy” focused on the role of natural gas in facilitating energy needs in an economically sustainable way that recognizes environmental goals. “Environment” delved into the role of natural gas in meeting various environmental objectives, particularly lower-carbon energy systems, as well as the roles of new technologies and regulation.

“Coalition building” focused on energy transitions and the potential for private-public interaction to achieve sustainable energyenvironment-economy pathways.

Participants were separated into four different discussion groups to interact on the three different themes. After welcoming remarks, the Dialogues were opened with a presentation from Alan Thomson, Global Leader of the Energy Practice at Boston Consulting Group, on the study “America’s Unconventional Energy Opportunity” that was published in conjunction with Harvard University in June 2015. The presentation set the stage for the day’s discussions on each of the themes.

To read the full executive summary prepared by Kenneth B. Medlock III, Ph.D. James A. Baker, III, and Susan G. Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and Senior Director, Center for Energy Studies – please click here.