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The Opportunity Crudes Conference has seen two successful installments in 2008 and 2010, years when the state of the oil industry was at extreme ends of the spectrum. At the time of the first conference in May 2008, crude prices were on the way up with light sweet crude finally peaking at above $145/bbl in July amid a steady economy. US refiners enjoyed an unprecedented WTI-Maya differential of wider than $22/bbl and Maya coking margins of about $15/bbl in early May. Then, in Oct. 2010, the Opportunity Crudes community met again, this time while the world was recovering from a global economic recession, which saw oil prices and consumption plummet and many projects put on hold.
Since then, the industry has remained in flux, with markets improving, crude costs rising again, and changes being formulated on the regulatory fronts. Going forward, there will be less demand for gasoline as consumption shifts to diesel, fewer outlets for fuel oil and bunker fuel, continued market penetration from biofuels, increased volatility in crude markets with prices trending upward, rising competition for crudes between the East and West, environmentalists' opposition to transportation and processing of opportunity crudes, and tightening in GHG rules as legislators in a number of developed nations pursue the clean agenda regardless of cost-and-benefit considerations.
These issues pose tremendous challenges, but also present unparalleled opportunities. We need a complete well-to-wheels approach to formulate the right technologies and strategies in providing the world with energy security and a clean environment. The complexity and scope of the obstacles is why this conference brings together people from both upstream and downstream sectors, as well as mid-stream, creating an atmosphere where panelists and attendees from all over the world share knowledge and insights into how to tackle the obstacles and capture the prospects.
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