IEL Lower Carbon Conference:
Headwinds, Tailwinds, or Both?
Houston, Texas, USA
Norris Conference Centers - Houston/CityCentre
816 Town & Country Blvd., Suite 210
Houston, Texas 77024
Registrar: +1.972.244.3403
IEL: +1.972.244.3421
E-Mail: iel@cailaw.org
Overview
This conference will explore the evolving legal, regulatory, and business landscape for the transition to a lower-carbon future. The conference will consider different aspects for reducing carbon in the energy industry, including different energy sources and reducing carbon in the traditional oil and gas industry. The conference will also look at the anticipated short and long-term future of the energy industry.
Conference Co-Chairs

David Clark
Chevron
Houston, Texas

Keith B. Hall
Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Ekin Senlet
Barclay Damon LLP
Albany, New York
Registration Options
Early registration pricing is available through April 21, 2025.
- $485 / $550 - Regular Registration Fee
- $395 / $460 - IEL Advisory Board Member
- $395 / $460 - IEL Supporting or Sustaining Member Employee
- $395 / $460 - IEL Young Energy Professional Member
- $75 - Full-time Professor
- $50 - Law Student
Schedule and Faculty
8:15 a.m. - Registration
8:50 – 9:00 a.m. - Welcome, Overview and Introductions
9:00 – 9:45 a.m. - Flooding the Zone: Trump’s All-of-the-Above Approach to Energy
President Trump has placed U.S. energy dominance and independence as a top priority of his second term in the White House. The energy sector and public are seeing this play out in real time via executive orders, a flood of regulatory activity across federal agencies, proposed and implemented tariffs, and potential changes to financial incentives. What develops over the next three years will be closely watched as the implications across the various energy industries will be significant.
- Anne Idsal Austin, Burke Law Group, Austin, Texas
- Nikesh Jindal, King & Spalding LLP, Washington, D.C.
- Jim Noe, Holland & Knight LLP, Washington, D.C. and Houston, Texas
9:45 – 10:30 a.m. - The Grid of Tomorrow – Increased Demand
- State mandates
- ESG and renewable energy pledges by private companies
- Future energy demand and electrification growth
- Data center growth and AI implications & AI increasing efficiency of the grid
- Micro grid energy generation and grid resiliency
- Battery energy storage systems
- A.J. Davitt, Counsel, Chevron New Energies, Houston, Texas
- Rebecca E. Kennedy, Principal Corporate Counsel, Microsoft, Washington, D.C.
- David Spence, Professor of Energy Law & Regulation, The University of Texas at Austin School of Law, Austin, Texas
10:30 – 11:00 a.m. - BREAK
10:45 – 11:30 a.m. - Lithium Development: Historical Underpinnings, Current Realities, and Future Aspirations
The session will include an update on current trends in the M&A market, the framework in Arkansas and why the Arkansas Smackover is leading DLE investment, and where we may be headed in Texas.
- Brad Gibbs, Olivia Gibbs LLP, Houston, Texas
- Bruce M. Kramer, Maddox Professor of Law Emeritus, Texas Tech School of Law; McGinnis Lochridge, Houston, Texas
- Rebecca Seidl, Baker Botts L.L.P., Houston, Texas
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - High Risk, High Reward – Energy Contracting in Turbulent Times
In this session experts from across the energy industry will discuss how market and governmental uncertainty impacts renewable energy contracting. From recent offshore wind contract cancellations to government leased land disputes and supply chain issues developers have more factors than ever to consider when determining permitting and construction timelines. These often hard to determine timelines then must be accounted for in contracting and investing. Practitioners will discuss how they approach these rapidly changing risk factors in contracting projects and trends they see emerging in the field.
Moderator: Ekin Senlet, Barclay Damon, Albany, New York
Panelists:
- Cynthia Martinez, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, energyRE, Houston, Texas
- J.T. Nesser, Associate General Counsel – Projects, Shell USA, Inc., Houston, Texas
12:15 – 1:15 p.m. - NETWORKING LUNCH
1:15 – 2:00 p.m. - Energy of Tomorrow – Nuclear
- Three-mile Island
- Private companies leading the charge
- Jonathan Ayre, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Houston, Texas
- Additional Panelist Invited
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. - Energy of Tomorrow – Lower Carbon Fuels and Alternatives
This panel will discuss lower carbon solutions, including biodiesel, renewable diesel, natural gas, renewable natural gas, hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, carbon capture, and more. Panelists will explore diverse feedstocks and value chains. It will also cover how policy plays a vital role in the development and adoption of these solutions.Hydrogen
- Anthony Choueiri, Senior Counsel, Chevron, Houston, Texas
- James Cole, Latham & Watkins LLP, Houston, Texas
- Dr. Paul Schubert, CEO, Strategic Biofuels, Columbia, Louisiana
3:00 – 3:15 p.m. - BREAK
3:15 – 4:00 p.m. - Modern Geothermal Development – Ownership and Regulation
Methods available for the development of geothermal resources have undergone a technology-driven fugue shift in recent years, opening up opportunities not previously economically viable, including enhanced geothermal systems, novel ground-source heat pump systems, geothermal energy storage, and other methods. This presentation will begin by providing the general technical background associated with such modern geothermal development methods, and then transition into a general overview regarding the ownership of geothermal resources, followed by a closer look at geothermal resources ownership and regulation in a few select states, highlighting the different ways in which geothermal resources are developed and regulated. The presentation will end with a general discussion regarding how federally-owned geothermal resources are leased and regulated.
- Brent Chicken, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, Denver, Colorado
- Clifton A. Squibb, Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C., Dallas, Texas
4:00 – 4:45 p.m. - Subterranean Homesick Blues; You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows (Dylan, 1965)
Against the backdrop of a new administration that is deeply skeptical of initiatives that seek to address climate change, well financed carbon capture and sequestration projects continue to attract investment and hundreds others are working their way through various approvals and towards start-up. Can the CCS business continue to advance domestically and internationally? If the US federal government withdraws (if it can) its support, will states and other nations step into the vacuum? What role will the voluntary markets play? Will the CCS business model need adjustment or a DOGE like overhaul? What does the future hold for permitting projects, state primacy, continued engagement with local communities and stakeholders and long tail liabilities? Our panelists from academia, law, policy and industry take a chance at predicting which way the wind blows.
- Myles Culhane, Deputy General Counsel – Climate, Occidental and 1PointFive, Houston, Texas
- Marjorie McKeithen, Jones Walker, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Joseph Schremmer, Associate Professor of Law, The University of Oklahoma College of Law, Norman, Oklahoma
4:45 p.m. - ADJOURN
Sponsorship Opportunities
Breakfast Sponsor - $4,000 (Exclusive)
- Recognition in all marketing, which will be sent to several thousand interested counsel and business leaders
- Company/firm logo prominently displayed in the Conference brochure, final program and conference break slides
- Recognition at the event
- 3 complimentary registrants at the Conference
- A table for display of company/firm materials at the conference
Lanyard Sponsor - $4,000 (Exclusive) - SOLD
- Name on lanyards distributed at Conference
- Recognition in all marketing, which will be sent to several thousand interested counsel and business leaders
- Company/firm logo prominently displayed in the Conference brochure, final program and conference break slides
- Recognition at the event
- 3 complimentary registrants at the Conference
- A table for display of company/firm materials at the conference
Morning Conference Break Sponsor - $4,000 (Exclusive) - SOLD
- Recognition in all marketing, which will be sent to several thousand interested counsel and business leaders
- Company/firm logo prominently displayed in the Conference brochure, final program and conference break slides
- Recognition at the event
- 3 complimentary registrants at the Conference
- A table for display of company/firm materials at the conference
Afternoon Conference Break Sponsor - $3,500 (Exclusive)
- Recognition in all marketing, which will be sent to several thousand interested counsel and business leaders
- Company/firm logo prominently displayed in the Conference brochure, final program and conference break slides
- Recognition at the event
- 3 complimentary registrants at the Conference
- A table for display of company/firm materials at the conference
Networking Luncheon Sponsor - $3,000 (Limited to 4)
- Recognition in all marketing, which will be sent to several thousand interested counsel and business leaders
- Company/firm logo prominently displayed in the Conference brochure, final program and conference break slides
- Recognition at the event
- 3 complimentary registrants at the Conference
- A table for display of company/firm materials at the conference
Conference Supporter - $2,500
- Recognition in all marketing, which will be sent to several thousand interested counsel and business leaders
- Company/firm logo prominently displayed in the Conference brochure, final program and conference break slides
- Recognition at the event
- Does not include an exhibitor table
- 2 complimentary registrants at the Conference
Exhibitor (Non-law Firms Only) - $2,500 (Limited to 2)
- Space to display company/firm materials at the conference.
- Name/logo on Conference website with link to company page
For more information about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Lilly Hogarth, Sponsorship Director at lhogarth@cailaw.org or (972) 244-3424
Other Information
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Visa Information
If you require a letter of invitation to obtain a visa for this conference, payment of the registration fee must first be made. If you apply and do not receive a visa, please send us a copy of the rejection letter from the consulate, and we will cancel your registration and issue a refund. Please email iel@cailaw.org for more details.
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