On February 10, 2010, the Ocean Energy Institute and the National Corrosion Center presented a Gulf of Maine to Gulf of Mexico Symposium, “Gulf to Gulf”, highlighting the dawn of ocean energy. Matt Simmons, Founder of the Ocean Energy Institute and Emil Peña, Founder of the National Corrosion Center, presented the following agenda:
8:30 am Welcome and Introductions
Emil Peña- Executive Director of Rice NCC and Matthew Simmons, Founder of the Ocean Energy Institute
8:50 am Corrosion and Other Challenges
Dr. Enrique Barrera – Rice University
Dr. Robert Lindyberg – University of Maine
9:30 am Update on Global Initiatives: “Europe Today and Beyond”
Carsten Hein Westergaard, Vestas
10:20 am Break
10:30 am Update on Texas Wind (Moved to luncheon in place of federal wind discussion)
Jerry Patterson, Texas Land Commissioner
11:00 am Offshore Texas – Coastal Point Energy
Former Senator Tommy Hudson
11:20 am Offshore Maine:
Robert West – OEI – The State of the State of Maine
George Baker – Fox Islands Wind Project
John Holbrook – NHThree, LLC – Ammonia as a Fuel
12:00 pm Luncheon Speaker: Update on Federal Wind and Other Ocean Energy Programs
(replaced with Jerry Patterson discussion)
1:30 pm “Technology Transfer, Standards and Protocol for a New Industry-
Offshore Energy”
Enrique Barrera, Rice University (Panel Lead)
Ed Horton, Chairman, Horton Deepwater Development Systems
Kurt Lawson, DNV
2:30 pm Afternoon keynote- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
3:00 pm Break
3:15 pm The Federal Future
Paul Kelly, Sean O’Neill
3:45 pm Discussion on Future of Ocean Energy Institute
Matt Simmons / Robert West
4:15 pm Q & A on all topics
Panel discussion: Matt Simmons, Emil Pena, Bob West, John Holbrook, Laurenz Schmidt, others
5:00 pm Closing Remarks, Adjourn Reception
Matthew Simmons is the founder and Chairman Emeritus of the world’s largest energy investment banking firm, Simmons & Company International. He was past Chairman of the National Ocean Industries Association, and served as energy adviser to President George W. Bush, among others. Simmons is author of the book Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy, which examines oil reserve decline rates to help raise awareness of the unreliability of Middle East oil reserves.
Emil Peña is the Founder and Executive Director of the National Corrosion Center, a forum for research, exchange of knowledge and expertise on corrosion assessment, mitigation and prevention technologies. Mr. Peña also serves as the Executive Director of the Energy & Environmental Systems Institute of Rice University. Always a powerful advocate of clean energy and responsible environmental policy, Mr. Peña has formed the Houston Clean Energy Park (“HCEP”), an 80 acre facility adjacent to a utility substation allowing for harmonization and delivery of clean power into the ERCOT electric grid; along with this clean power is the development of the 80 acres into a technology park focusing on tenants with market competitive clean energy, environmental or infrastructure technology firms. Mr. Peña also served in the U.S. Department of Energy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Natural Gas and Petroleum Technology, Office of Fossil Energy, during the Clinton Administration.
