3rd IEA-IEF-OPEC Symposium on Gas and Coal Market Outlooks

The 3rd IEA-IEF-OPEC Symposium on Gas and Coal Market Outlooks was held at IEA Headquarters in Paris on 14 December 2016 at a time when supply abundance sets the tone in medium term gas and coal market projections, and the rapid entry in force of the UN Paris Agreement points at a new global consensus on emission reductions. Senior experts from government and industry discussed energy market fundamentals, as well as the role of regulation and technology to assess the implications of these developments for the share of gas and coal in the evolution towards healthier energy markets in both producing and consuming countries.

The Symposium is part of the IEA-IEF-OPEC trilateral work programme that aims to improve transparency in the interest of energy security among producing and consuming countries in response to the G20 Cannes Summit Leaders’ Declaration (November 2011) call for "continued dialogue annually between producers and consumers on short medium and long-term outlook and forecasts for oil, gas and coal." G20 and IEF Energy Ministers encouraged the IEA, the IEF and OPEC "to continue their fruitful collaboration", and affirmed their commitment to "strengthen global energy security and facilitate an orderly energy transition" at their recent ministerial meetings held in June and September 2016.

The Symposium considered the dialogue outcomes of the 5th IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum hosted on 6 December 2016 in New Delhi by the government of India, and built on the findings of the earlier held IEA-IEF-OPEC Symposiums on Gas and Coal Market Outlooks referenced below.

The IEF highlights 10 Key IEF Dialogue Insights derived from Symposium discussions. These insights and the Agenda are available for download below:

Welcome and Opening Remarks

• Fatih Birol, Executive Director, IEA
• Fuad Al Zayer, Co-ordinator Energy Data Transparency (JODI), IEF
• Oswaldo Tapia, Head, Energy Studies Department, in charge of Research Division, OPEC

Session I: Gas market developments in the short-, medium-, and long-term

Session Moderator: Fuad Al Zayer, Co-ordinator Energy Data Transparency (JODI), IEF

• Costanza Jacazio, Senior Gas Expert, IEA, Natural Gas Market Outlook
• Roberto Aguilera, Research Analyst, OPEC, Natural Gas Developments and Prospects
• Maria Sicilia, Director International Strategy, Enagás Who Will Invest in an Oversupplied Gas Market and the Current Low-Price Environment?
• Yuichiro Torikata, Energy Analyst, IEF, The Joint Organisations Data Initiative Action Plan to 2020
• Teddy Kott, Head of Global Gas Analysis, EDF Trading, Are There Consequences to Global Gas Trading in a Looser Market?

Session II: Coal market development in the short-, medium-, and long-term

Session Moderator: Erfan Vafaie Fard, Analyst - Alternative Sources of Energy, OPEC

• Carlos Fernández Alvarez, Senior Coal Expert, IEA, Coal Market Outlook
• Moufid Benmerabet, Analyst - Downstream Oil Industry, OPEC, Coal Developments and Prospects
• Mauricio Bemudez-Neubauer, Independent Consultant, The Impact of the Paris Agreement on the Coal Market
• Sylvie Cornot-Gandolphe, Independent Consultant Energy and Raw Materials, Deep Dive into the Asian Market

Session III: Gas and coal competition from a long-term sustainability perspective

Session Moderator: Keisuke Sadamori, Director, Energy Markets and Security, IEA

• Dmitry Sokolov, Head of Energy Economics and Forecasting Department, GECF, The Future Role of Gas
• Tim Gould, Head of the Energy Supply Outlook Division, IEA, The Competitive Environment for Coal and Gas in the World Energy Outlook
• Masana Ezawa, Director, Coal Division, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan, The Role of Clean Coal Technology in the Long Term

The 4th Symposium on Gas and Coal Market Outlooks will take place in 2018.

Previous Symposium

• 2nd IEA-IEF-OPEC Gas and Coal Market Outlook Symposium
  30 October 2014, Paris, France
• 1st IEA-IEF-OPEC Gas and Coal Market Outlook Symposium
  4 October 2012, Paris, France