BILLY THINNES, Contributing Editor
Gastech is the global meeting place for energy professionals working in the natural gas industry. Operating on an 18-month cycle to ensure that issues remain topical, the 26th edition of Gastech will take place at the ExCeL Conference and Exhibition Center in London’s Docklands, Oct. 8-11, 2012. Originally set up to bring together the technical decision-makers involved in LNG and LPG shipping, Gastech now attracts the major technical and commercial players from around the world to meet, discuss and exchange ideas affecting the upstream, midstream, downstream and power generation sectors of the industry.
This year, Gastech reaches a landmark 40th birthday, and it has been a long, interesting journey that brings the gathering back to London for the first time since 1973. Back then, a gathering of engineers working in LNG and LPG shipping came together to discuss the technical challenges facing the industry. Gastech has grown substantially since then, and it now attracts not only industry engineers but also key global government figures and international executives.
Panel discussions. Gastech features more than 120 of the industry’s most prominent speakers and representatives, and is comprised of ministerial keynotes, company addresses, technical presentations, question-and-answer sessions and panel debates.
An Executive Leadership panel on Monday will examine the question, “Have we entered the golden age for gas?” Industry executives on the panel include Bill Dudley, president and CEO of Bechtel; Helge Lund, president and CEO of Statoil; Shigeru Muraki, executive vice president and energy chief executive of Tokyo Gas Co.; and Hamad Rashid Al-Mohannadi, vice-chairman of Qatar Petroleum. The second noteworthy panel on Monday is the Regional Executive Leadership panel. These panelists will discuss: “Europe: Security of supply vs. liberalization.” Notable panel members include Sergi Shmatko, Russia’s minister of energy; Chris Finlayson, executive director for BG Group; and Jean-Claude Depail, president for Gas Infrastructure Europe.
Two-track sessions. Tuesday and Wednesday of the conference feature two tracks of programming: commercial and technical. Subject matter includes natural gas and LNG projects; floating LNG; unconventional gas; gas technology; and gas monetization. 
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