SESSIONS

9:30 – 10:30 | Product Update: P-Cubed, Hardware Updates, e360

Picarro’s P-Cubed™ award-winning software and analytics platform is the enabling technology behind our solutions for natural gas distributors. In this session, we will highlight P-Cubed’s new capabilities including the latest improvements in Priority Ranking and Emissions Quantification analytics, our new measurement-based emissions reporting capabilities, and our ESRI-powered interactive web maps. Participants will receive direct insight into the Picarro software and analytics strategic roadmap and an opportunity to help define the future of Picarro Gas.

Presenters:
Julien Klein, Senior Director Product Management, Gas, Picarro
Jacob Cansler, Product Manager, Gas, Picarro
Andrew Kidd, Product Manager, Gas, Picarro

10:45 – 11:45 | Panel #1: Expert Talks, Emissions Measurement and Reduction

Measuring and quantifying methane emissions from the natural gas value chain has gained significant attention across all stakeholders, such as regulators, policymakers, scientists, consumers, and the shareholders of gas utilities. Many industry leaders have committed to ESG goals including methane emissions reduction targets, acknowledging the importance and urgency of reducing the carbon footprint from the energy sector. Concurrently, with increased attention on methane as a greenhouse gas, new emission-reporting mechanisms have emerged which require more accurate measurement and quantification methodologies to provide transparent monitoring, reporting, and verification.

In this session, we will briefly outline the different emission measurement techniques and how the topic of methane emission measurements has evolved over the recent past. We will talk about the characteristics of methane emissions from the natural gas infrastructure and what the main challenges are in measuring and quantifying methane emissions from natural gas distribution systems. Finally, we will discuss how the Picarro solutions can be used to reduce methane emissions and to make progress towards the net-zero target.

Moderator: Renato Winkler, PhD, Sr. Director Business Development, Picarro

Panelists:
Francois Xavier Rongere, Senior Director, Solution Architect for Climate and Safety, Picarro
Sean MacMullin, PhD, Senior Director of Software and Data Analytics, Picarro
Thomas Fox, PhD, President, Highwood Emissions

1:15 – 2:15 | Panel #2: Nextgen – A Holistic Approach to Network Assessment

Digitalization empowers businesses to standardize access to data and analytics, and ultimately enables informed decision making across the organization. Making the right strategic decisions can be very challenging when managing a complex and critical infrastructure such as a gas distribution network. Furthermore, the quality of the models used to optimize investment plans are only as good as the data used to inform them.

In this session we will discuss how gas operators organize data on large asset bases, identify risks, and forecast the effects of future investments such as leak repair and pipeline replacement. We will discuss scenarios where a complete and up-to-date view of methane leakage at the asset level can be used to inform and optimize investment strategies and ensure environmental stewardship and health & safety goals are met and highlight examples of how AMLD data are being leveraged to optimize work programs.

Moderator: Sean MacMullin, PhD, Senior Director of Software and Data Analytics, Picarro

Panelists:
Asif Aziz, Senior Investment Program Manager, Cadent Gas
Jamie Herdocia, Director of Technical Field Operations, CenterPoint Energy

2:15 – 3:15 | Panel #3: Emissions Management – From Measurement to Reduction

Leak quantification unlocks the potential to implement methane abatement programs in order to reduce emissions and meet emission reduction targets/goals. The leak sizes in the distribution system span over several orders of magnitude, and prioritization is the key strategy to have an effective methane abatement program. 

In this discussion, we will go over each of the utility’s implementation plans and how they are using the Picarro mobile detection and quantification system to reduce emissions.

Moderator: Stephen Ramos, Expert Gas Engineer, PG&E

Panelists:
Francois Xavier Rongere, Senior Director, Solution Architect for Climate and Safety, Picarro
Dave Moon, Director of Asset Investment, Cadent Gas
Stephen Holcomb, Team Leader Environmental Permitting, Nisource
Rachel Seabase, Manager, Leak Survey, Southern Company Gas

We will end the day with an open session for attendees to ask questions on multiple topics. Our panelists from Picarro will be on hand to answer any questions you may have. We would also like to hear your feedback on the conference and listen to any ideas regarding the conference, our product and moving forward into 2023 and beyond!

Panelists:
Julien Klein, Senior Director Product Management, Gas, Picarro
Francois Xavier Rongere, Senior Director, Solution Architect for Climate and Safety, Picarro
Sean MacMullin, PhD, Senior Director of Software and Data Analytics, Picarro
Anthony Gambony, Senior Director, Sales and Client Engagement, Picarro 

8:45 – 9:45 | Panel #4: Operational and Technological Challenges facing Latin American Gas Utilities
 

Gas utilities in Latin America have experienced an important transformation in recent years. This business sector has moved from a fully government-owned operation schema to a mixed private-government in some cases or to a fully private schema in other cases.The entering of private capital into this sector in Latin America has allowed important investments to be made, which have brought the modernization of their networks and the use of new technologies to improve service reliability, security, as well as capabilities to meet regulatory requirements, and customer experience.

While Latin-American gas utilities have worked hard to modernize all aspects of their business, international standards and regulatory requirements have significantly increased. This has created immense challenges in terms of operations, maintenance, and safety, as well as in environmental, social, and governance commitments.

In this session, some of the most important voices of Latin-American gas utilities will briefly outline their ongoing transformation. We will talk about the challenges they face in terms of modular processes like compliance surveys, field operations, and maintenance. And finally, we will discuss how technologies like Picarro can be leveraged to overcome those challenges, achieve ESG goals, and meet local and international requirements related to operations, maintenance, and safety.  

Moderator:  Malvin Delgado, Director, Sales & Client Engagement, Picarro

Panelists:
Leticia Dantas – Head of Innovation and New Ventures at Comgás, Brazil
Nestor Consuegra – Head of Operations and Maintenance at Gases de Occidente - GdO (Promigas Group), Colombia
Alvaro Garcia – Director of Operations North & Bajio Regions at Naturgy, Mexico
Hugo Prieto - Engineer, Inosol Ingeniería, Colombia

10:00 – 11:00 | Breakout Sessions
Netzero Discussion – Ballroom Salon A

Operators from all segments of the value chain are facing increased pressure to commit to ambitious ESG goals, including methane emissions reduction targets, thereby acknowledging the importance and urgency of reducing the carbon footprint of their network. Consequently, many operators are striving to achieve net-zero for their entire operation and undertaking voluntary initiatives that aim to set a strict standard for measuring and reducing emissions.

In this session, we will discuss how Picarro’s P-Cubed™ software and analytics is at the heart of this journey for many operators and how Picarro’s industry leading abatement strategies are leveraged.  We are hoping for this session to be an open roundtable between the panelist and audience to engage in a spirited discussion around closing the gap to net-zero in the natural gas distribution sector. What other technologies, tools, or strategies are helping your organization to stay on target for your net-zero or carbon-neutral goal?

Moderators: Renato Winkler, PhD, Sr. Director Business Development, Picarro and Jacob Cansler, Product Manager, Gas, Picarro

Panelists:
Thomas Fox, PhD, President, Highwood Emissions
Marta Guerrero Merino, Principal Engineer, Veritas, GTI Energy
Francois Xavier Rongere, Senior Director, Solution Architect for Climate and Safety, Picarro

Client Success Stories – Coronado 3/4

In this breakout session we will hear from multiple operators sharing short anecdotes of how the Picarro AMLD solution has added value, led them to surprising insights, offered an unexpected or shoulder benefit from their initial use case, or otherwise increased safety, efficiency, or improved outcome.

This session will include the opportunity for questions and answers, as well as the opportunity for audience members to share their own success story anecdotes with their peers in this casual town hall format.

Moderators: Robert Vaughn, Direct Business Development and Technical Marketing, Picarro

Panelists:
DTE
NiSource
PG&E
Summit Utilities
Incolsol Ingenieria

11:00 – 12:15 | Panel #5: Adopting and Scaling AMLD
 
Large-scale operational change is sometimes challenging for a large organization to manage. Choosing to utilize a breakthrough technology, like Picarro AMLD, stresses data management, decision-making processes, operations, and corporate culture.

In this panel, we will discuss specific adoption and scaling pathways for North American utilities. They will share information around potential stumbling blocks, change management challenges to be aware of, and lessons learned along the way. There will be time reserved for questions and answers from the audience.

Moderator: Eban Grasti, Director Of Operations Support, Southern Company Gas

Panelists:
Jeffrey Goetzman, Manager, Texas Technical Field Operations, CenterPoint Energy
Britney Strout, Senior Manager Pipeline Integrity, Summit Utilities, Inc.
Jason Shehan, Director of Engineering Gas Operations, Picarro
Paul Sheridan, Leader Mobile Leak Detection, NiSource