Could there have been a more coincidental time in history to attend CERAWeek this year?

The Russian invasion on Ukraine, which began 11 days before the global energy’s version of the Sundance Film Festival, stole the whole show as a cast of industry and government luminaries spoke to the new monkey wrench thrown by a bad actor.

Reese Energy Consulting today is following the wind down of CERAWeek 2022, the 40-year-old event that brought together more than 800 speakers who no doubt had to re-think their talking points.

Of particular note, Okla. City-based Chesapeake lamented the lack of midstream infrastructure constraining natural gas production in the Marcellus—the company’s best portfolio asset. Tulsa-based Williams cited the permitting quagmire to build more gas pipelines: Four years or more of regulatory hurdles for a project that takes only four to six months to build.

And then, what was unthinkable just two months ago happened yesterday. Speaking at CERAWeek, the U.S. Energy Secretary asked the fossil fuels industry to pretty please with sugar on top produce more oil and gas in light of an emergency situation. We give her the award for Best Actress. What do you think? Learn more about REC’s natural gas marketing services at www.ReeseEnergyConsulting.com.