Yours truly remembers that nearly a decade ago, both the displays and talks would fit within half a hotel foyer, often with ABB's Yumi robot (or 'co-bot' as the company called it at the time) at the centre of it all.
Things look and feel very different for the programme these days, and particularly so at CERAWeek 2026. Agora proceedings now practically occupy a whole floor at the George R. Brown convention centre adjacent to the event's venue - Hilton Americas in Downtown Houston.
According to the organisers S&P Global, this year's Agora will have 420 sessions, nearly 900 speakers, over a fourth of whom are from start-ups, and 66 partners. The dialogues are "dedicated to advancing solutions to the greatest challenges facing our energy and environmental future" and exploring new pathways "for lower emissions, affordability and reliability."
The nine key themes for this year happen to be AI and Digital, Electrification Technologies, The Innovation Ecosystem, Managing Emissions, Low-Carbon Fuels and Mobility, Climate and Sustainability, Chemicals and Materials, Investment and Financing and Workforce Strategy.
Agora has pulled in technologists, VCs, investors and corporate innovators to hobnob with startups in ever greater numbers, very much like any energy technology conference yours truly has attended.
The Oilholic went from listening to Microsoft executives discussing energy AI to JOGMEC experts talking about pathways for blue hydrogen in the US, and much else in between, earlier this afternoon.
This blogger can only see the event grow bigger as the years roll on. More musings from Houston soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'!
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© Gaurav Sharma 2026. Photo: CERAWeek 2026's Innovation Agora programme © Gaurav Sharma, March 2026.
