INGAA Foundation Mid-year Meeting 2006

April 20, 2006 8:00AM   -   April 21, 2006 12:30PM
San Antonio , TX

The Foundation’s April Midyear Meeting in San Antonio, TX was a success.  Attendance was very high (156 members and guests) and the substantive content of the program was timely and informative.  INGAA member companies were well represented and many INGAA company executives participated on panels that addressed the construction outlook for the industry and the industry’s response to the infrastructure damage caused by the 2005 hurricanes. 

Fred Fowler of Duke Energy Gas delivered the keynote address in which he spoke about the challenges facing the natural gas industry with respect to growing the market, not the least of which are increasing political obstacles to infrastructure development.  After his remarks, a panel of pipeline executives discussed construction projects that are in progress or that are on the horizon. Both Fred’s remarks and the comments of other INGAA executives on construction issues were prominently covered in the trade press on April  24. 

Other meeting presentations focused on the availability of steel pipe over the next 10 years and new communication challenges facing our industry.  The meeting concluded with a panel of industry and government representatives who detailed the effects of the 2005 hurricanes on natural gas infrastructure and operations, our industry’s response to those impacts, and the lessons learned from that experience.

On the business side of the meeting, the Planning and Studies Committee began the winnowing process for the 2007 study cycle.  Over 40 study proposals were discussed.  Some were consolidated into a single proposal, some were rejected, and others were tabled for further development by the proponents.  At the end of the meeting, it was recommended that the sponsors of approximately 25 study proposals do additional work to refine their proposals for consideration at the August 10-11 Planning and Strategy Meeting in Banff, Alberta.