Argus European Crude Conference

The absence of sour crude in Europe’s spot crude market has left a hole in supply, and also in price identification. Join leading industry commentators as they share their views on the forthcoming changes to the Brent crude complex, the opportunities and pitfalls and the likely impacts on the way crude is traded and priced globally.

Moderator: Euan Craik, Global Head of Oil, Argus

Panellists:
Dr Adi Imsirovic, Senior Research Fellow, The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
Kurt Chapman, Director, Zenith Energy
Owain Johnson, Managing Director, Research & Product Development, CME Group
James Gooder, Vice-President, Crude, Argus

• What are the wider implications of currency movements, high LNG prices and inflation?
• Interest rate hikes – how will increasingly costly trade finance affect the market? Will there be a shortage of credit lines?
• Navigating Russian and Iranian sanctions – what are the mid to long-term implications on trade?

Moderator: David Fyfe, Chief Economist, Argus

Panellists:
Saad Rahim, Chief Economist, Trafigura
Frederic Lasserre, Global Head of Market Research & Analysis, Gunvor Group
Bill Farren-Price, Director, Head of Macro Oil & Gas Intelligence, Enverus

• How have European refiners adapted with the absence of Russian crude supply?
• Is crude supply from the US, Middle East and Africa enough to fill the gap?
• How can the industry navigate the infrastructure bottleneck to bring in the different crudes?
• What is the future of product demand and pricing, and can Europe’s refineries remain competitive?
• How will the continued push towards energy independence and bio energy sources impact traditional crude demand?

Panellists:
Łukasz Strupczewski, Director of Crude Oil Trading, PKN ORLEN S.A.
Toril Bosoni, Head of the Oil Industry and Markets Division, International Energy Agency (IEA)
David Wech, Chief Economist, Vortexa

• With supply and demand trade routes shifting, how have freight rates and global arbitrages been impacted?
• What freight rate trends have we seen and what might the market expect in the year ahead?
• Green shipping and its implications on tanker freight – what are the new trade routes for low carbon or zero carbon energy carriers, and the collaborative action needed to scale renewable infrastructure?

Moderator: Alex Younevitch, Global Head of Freight, Argus

Panellists:
Sofia Fürstenberg Stott, Partner, Fürstenberg Maritime Advisory
Jakob Hjortlund, Director - Oil, Gas and Asset Research, Maersk Broker K/S
Richard Matthews, Head of Research, Gibsons Shipbrokers

• What opportunities exist in the marketplace for carbon-neutral crude?
• How is carbon-neutral crude priced and how might it compete with non-offset crude?
• How can the industry properly tackle regulation and accountability of the voluntary carbon market?

Panellists:
Juan Carlos Fonnegra, Global Head of Crude Oil Trading & Marketing, Ecopetrol S.A.
Paul Sebastien, Co-Founder, Director, Climate Neutral Commodity
Owain Johnson, Managing Director, Research & Product Development, CME Group

• Overview and status of the CCS Project Pipeline in Europe
• Challenges and approaches to the deployment of CCS
• Role of CCS amongst abatement solutions & outlook to 2050

• What role has Africa taken on the global supply stage?
• Will the new African refineries start next year and herald a clean product regime in the region?
• Will Asia markets continue to pick up Russian supply?
• What transatlantic opportunities are there for Latin American crude in Asia and what import trends have we seen?

Panellists:
Viktor Katona, Lead Crude Analyst, Kpler
Tom Reed, Vice-president, China Crude and Products, Argus

• How long will they hold capital discipline?
• What is being done to bring crude production levels back up. Would government incentives work?
• When might we realistically see higher US production levels emerge?
• Where are the infrastructure bottlenecks in terms of exports?

• How are refiners in the Mediterranean changing their crude supply strategy?

• How is the reshuffling of diesel and vacuum gasoil supply chains affecting the crude market?
• Planning for the future – what is the near-term outlook for European products demand and is the industry prepared for the next disruption?
• How are traditional fuels competing with alternative fuels in Europe – with tighter regulations coming on line, how might this impact short and long-term fuels demand?

Panellists:

• With the growing importance of ESG considerations, how can the market navigate the shifting winds in financing?
• Adjusting to new market conditions – are specialist funds getting a bigger slice of the pie now?
• What are the developments in the regulatory backdrop and how has that impacted small and mid-size traders?

4) How can the market manage risk and the potential of future price shocks?

• How are the world’s crude benchmarks changing as trade flows shifts?
• What pricing solutions exist in various regions?

Speakers:
James Gooder, Vice-President, Crude, Argus
Michael Carolan, Crude Editor, Argus
Tom Reed, Vice-president, China Crude and Products, Argus