Gastech Days III & IV: The natural gas-AI nexus & more

As Gastech 2025 entered Days III and IV, and the finish line approached, conversations and dialogues at the event slightly turned from how natural gas would power an AI driven future to how AI itself would serve as an efficiency and decarbonisation enabler for the energy sector, and by extension to hard-to-abate heavy industry segments. 

To this effect, for the past three years, the event's AI-Energy, Climatetech and Hydrogen content streams have been steadily growing alongside signature plenaries. 

The Oilholic is happy to report that this trend continues. Additionally, this year also saw an even higher number of AI exhibitors. And leading global experts also showcased the impacts of new energy solutions such as methane abatement technologies and AI-driven optimisation, while addressing their impacts on rising energy demand and increased electricity consumption.

Yours truly got into the thick of the action via three panels on equally profound subjects on Day III. The first panel was on the topic of decarbonising heavy industrial sectors with e-fuels. 

Fellow panellists included Marco Àlvera, CEO & Co-Founder of TES, Alessandro Bernini, CEO of Maire, Dr Andrew Wood, CEO & Co-Founder of CATAGEN and Steve Esau, Chief Operating Officer of SEA-LNG. We discussed how with the right policies, collaborations and workforce support, sustainable fuels can contribute significantly to building a resilient, low carbon future. While there will be challenges along the way, there will also be opportunities. 

The second panel's topic was all about the unlocking the potential of low consumption AI technologies to accelerate energy transition goals. 

Panellists who joined yours truly for this panel included Uwa Airhiavbere, CCO - Worldwide Energy & Resources at Microsoft, Henri Domenach, Global Head - Energy Management of ENGIE, Parisa Bardouni, SVP & CTO of Aker Solutions, and Manoj Narender Madnani, MD - International at MARA.

Over an engaging and lively post-lunch exchange, we discussed how to activate low energy consumption, high impact AI technologies to deliver on the decarbonisation promise of generative AI.

And third and final panel that brought Day III's proceedings to a close for both the wider event, and this blogger, was on fostering full value chain collaboration to strengthen the market for scalable climate technologies. 

The panellists for this one included Guido D'Aloisio, CCO of Saipem, Yair Reem, Co-Founder & Partner at Extantia Capital, Charlie Sanchez, President - Infrastructure Advisory at Black & Veatch, and Dr. Ahmed El Sherbiny, VP - Energy Transition Fund at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. 

This one dear readers was all about plotting a roadmap for fostering the very sort of collaboration that translates ambition into tangible market impact.

Moving on from the penultimate day to the final morning - on Day IV - it was revealed that this year's Gastech saw nearly 50,000 visitors and attendees from over 150 countries, as this international event grows bigger by the year.

Additionally, next year's host city would be Bangkok, Thailand, as the event rotates back from Europe to Asia, the continent with a burgeoning natural gas demand. Well that's a wrap from Gastech 2025. It's been a memorable, insightful and engaging week out here in Milan. To be continued in Bangkok in 2026. Arrivederci for now. More musings to follow. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2025. 

Gastech 2025 sessions to be hosted by yours truly

The Oilholic is delighted to be back speaking and moderating at Gastech 2025 being held in Milan, Italy this year. One of the world's largest natural gas conference and exhibition of its kind is being held here from September 9 to 12. 

Yours truly will be holding four panel sessions at the event with distinguished industry leaders from energy sector and its entire value chain. 

Please do join if you can for some fantastic and insightful industry dialogues. Here are the details of the sessions:

Wednesday, September 10, 2025 @ 11:00 CET

Operational excellence through the application of artificial intelligence technologies

With:

• Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Alebri, CEO, ADNOC Sour Gas
• Olakunle Osobu, Deputy MD, NLNG
• Michael Deighton, SVP - Operations, Kent
• Fabricio Sousa, Global President - Worley Consulting & Technology Solutions, Worley
• Andy Webster, Global Digital Senior Director, KBR

(Click to enlarge)

Thursday, September 11, 2025 @ 09:45 CET

Decarbonising heavy industrial sectors with e-fuels

With:

• Marco Àlvera, CEO & Co-Founder, TES
• Alessandro Bernini, CEO, Maire
• Dr. Andrew Wood, CEO & Co-Founder, CATAGEN
• Steve Esau, Chief Operating Officer, SEA-LNG

(Click to enlarge)

Thursday, September 11, 2025 @ 14:00 CET

From investment to impact: Unlocking the potential of low consumption AI technologies to accelerate energy transition goals 

With:

• Uwa Airhiavbere, CCO - Worldwide Energy & Resources, Microsoft
• Henri Domenach, Global Head - Energy Management, ENGIE
• Parisa Bardouni, SVP & CTO, Aker Solutions
• Manoj Narender Madnani, MD - International, MARA

(Click to enlarge)

Thursday, September 11, 2025 @16:15 CET

Fostering full value chain collaboration to strengthen the market for scalable climate technologies

With:

• Guido D'Aloisio, CCO, Saipem 
• Yair Reem, Co-Founder & Partner, Extantia Capital 
• Charlie Sanchez, President - Infrastructure Advisory, Black & Veatch 
• Dr. Ahmed El Sherbiny, VP - Energy Transition Fund, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners

(Click to enlarge)

More musings to follow soon from Milan. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. 

Gastech Days III & IV: Harnessing the power of natural gas and climatetech

Over the course of Thursday and Friday - days III & IV - of Gastech 2024 that put us on the home stretch towards the conclusion of global event, many of the conversations revolved around climatetech and harnessing the power of natural gas as a destination fuel in the world's march to a low to a zero carbon future. 

An action packed agenda was underpinned by several movers and shakers in the natural gas space especially LNG terminal developers and operators from Venture Global LNG to Mexico Pacific. 

Meanwhile, energy major Shell emphatically declared its intentions of continuing to expand its global LNG portfolio predicated in its belief of an expected industry growth of 50% by 2040. It also noted that North America's total upcoming LNG exports alone could account for around 30% of global demand by 2030. 

Many thought leaders also echoed each others' belief that decarbonizing industry and transportation would involve natural gas in close step with emerging technologies. Yours truly hosted panels on both transport sector decarbonization as well as climatetech on Thursday. 

The first of these was titled - Decarbonizing heavy transportation: Collaborations to address the acceleration of climate technology solutions from development to deployment. The panellists included Sukhmal Jain, Director (Marketing) & Board Member, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Yoki Firnandi, CEO, PT Pertamina International Shipping, Meg Gentle, Executive Director, HIF Global and Mark S. Brownstein, SVP, Environmental Defense Fund. 

Decarbonizing heavy transport, specifically shipping, aviation and HGV remains a key challenge in addressing climate change. 

The panellists discussed how to steer the transport industry to net zero by 2050, robust strategies that will be needed to stimulate supportive policies, innovation in technologies and collaboration across the value chain to drive the adoption of low- and zero-carbon fuels.

We also discussed some of the barriers to investment in zero-emissions fuelling infrastructure, including biofuels, hydrogen and clean ammonia, which can pave the way for achieving their long-term supply and the climate benefits of decarbonization and some of the incentives that may be required. 

Next yours truly's attention turned to climatetech via a panel titled - Fostering greater climate technology innovation, deployment, and scale across the value chain. Eminent panellists included - Mahdi Aladel, CEO, Aramco Ventures, Paula Gant, President & CEO, GTI Energy and Vikas Dhole,  Vikas Dhole, GM of Project Management, AspenTech. 

Climatetech innovation holds the key to ensuring a significant decarbonization of energy systems and GHG emissions reductions. 

The panel deliberated how governments, the energy value chain and the emerging climate technology market overcome challenges related to scalability, matching market demand with new energy supply and a lack of the workforce skills needed to drive further adoption and deployment of low-carbon technologies.  

As proceedings began to wind down late on Wednesday and early Thursday, attention turned to passing the baton on to next year's Gastech destination - Milan - which was revealed as the next host city for Gastech 2025. 

Simon Ford, Vice President, Gastech, dmgevents, said this year's event had seen participation of attendees from over 150 countries, including 50 official government delegations. 

The occasion was marked a lovely launch evening party before everyone bid goodbye to H-Town following an insightful and fantastic energy event that will live long in the industry's memory. Well that's all from Gastech 2024. See you at Gastech 2025 in Milan. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo I: The George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas, U.S. - Venue of Gastech 2024. Photo II: Gastech 2024 Strategic Panel on Decarbonizing heavy transportation: Collaborations to address the acceleration of climate technology solutions from development to deployment moderated by Gaurav Sharma. Photo III: Gastech 2025 Launch Reception at The Corinthian, Houston, Texas, US. © Gaurav Sharma 2024.