Newsletter

AEIC Presentations Address the Latest Issues in the Energy Supply Chain

May – June 2022

The Manufacturing and Energy Industries have long been leaders in innovation and continue to deploy new technologies and solutions today.  The AEIC conference will showcase the most exciting innovations from industry speakers who are at the center of today’s developments, including drones, artificial intelligence, hydrogen, methane controls, geologic analysis and endangered species management.

Opening Keynote

James Sewell, Commissioning & Start-up Environmental Manager, Shell Chemical Company

Shell’s new multi-billion dollar petrochemical manufacturing facility in Beaver County, Pennsylvania has been permitted and built with environmental and safety at its core.  Jim Sewell has been part of the project from its early stages and will discuss the many considerations about environmental innovation that have been part of the plant’s development and will be key to its pivot from construction to operations this year.

Top 10 Issues from Deploying Robotics and Advanced Technologies in Oil and Gas Operations

Justine Kasznica, Esq. and Carl Ronald, Esq., Shareholders, Babst Calland

This presentation will identify many of the emerging technologies that are currently being incorporated across the oil and gas industry value chain and the associated legal considerations.  Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous devices, robotic functionality, drones and related technologies are key to increasing safety in the workplace and environmental monitoring in the field.

Gas and Groundwater Geochemistry Methods to Determine the Origin of Hydrocarbons

Fred Baldassare, Echelon Applied Geochemistry, Principal Geoscientist

Two distinct processes on Earth produce hydrocarbon gas: microbial and thermogenic degradation of organic matter. Thermogenic gas is formed at deeper depths by: (1) thermal cracking of sedimentary organic matter into hydrocarbon liquids and gas (“primary” thermogenic gas), and (2) thermal cracking of oil at high temperatures into gas (“secondary” thermogenic gas) and pyrobitumen. Both microbial and thermogenic gases occur in groundwater systems in the Appalachian Basin. The occurrence of these gases can be natural or anthropogenically induced. This session will look at the innovations in analyses of molecular and isotopic compositions of gas combined with groundwater geochemistry parameters at the site-specific level provide evidence of gas origin, contemporaneous mixing, and secondary processes such as fractionation.

The Latest Environmental Developments in impacting Innovating Energy Companies

Kevin Garber, Esq. Shareholder, Babst Calland Clements & Zomnir

This session will summarize recent key legal developments relating to air, waste and water environmental permits, new cleanup standards that affect energy companies, and managing reporting and disclosure with regulatory agencies and the public – all areas that are requiring innovation legal and regulatory solutions.

Identifying Rare Plants and Finding Common Ground with Proposed Pipelines

Kyle Filicky, PWS, Project Manager, Civil & Environmental Consultants

This presentation will provide background on how rare plants are identified in the field prior to pipeline development projects using tools such as the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory.  Using a case study, one process for protecting a species will be detailed followed by lessons learned for future development projects.

Emerging Technologies for Pipeline Infrastructure Design and Construction

Brian Halchak, Environmental Program Manager, Williams

Williams has been exploring many different avenues to take advantage of the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety that new technologies bring to the way we work. One of these technologies has proven to be a significant value add for multiple business units across Williams: unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drones. In 2016, Williams started and developed an internal UAS program that has now spread across the entire company to support multiple functional groups including engineering, design and drafting, environmental, construction, and operations. This presentation will explore the different opportunities that Williams found effective by implementing drone technology and the sensors that can be used to create value in the oil & gas pipeline segment.

Closing Keynote

Terry Bossert, Esq., General Counsel, Marcellus Shale Coalition

The closing keynote will cover one of the most significant areas of innovation in energy today – hydrogen production from natural gas and the associated carbon management.  The Marcellus Shale Coalition’s Terry Bossert will deliver the latest considerations into why hydrogen production is getting so much attention and some of the many innovative and useful ways to sequester carbon.

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