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 (45 min)

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 (45 min)

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 – 10:45 a.m. - BREAK

10:45 – 11:30 a.m. - Lithium Development: Historical Underpinnings, Current Realities, and Future Aspirations (45 min)

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 Inglesby, Baker Botts L.L.P., Houston, Texas

11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - High Risk, High Reward – Energy Contracting in Turbulent Times (45 min)

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, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Parliament Energy Holdings LLC, Houston, Texas
J.T. Nesser, Associate General Counsel – Projects, Shell USA, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana
Joe Tirone, Jones Walker, New Orleans, Louisiana

12:15 – 1:15 p.m. - NETWORKING LUNCH

1:15 – 2:00 p.m. - Nuclear Energy in Transition: Innovation, Safety, and the Path to a Sustainable Future (45 min)

This panel will discuss the role and future of nuclear energy in the energy transition, comparing nuclear energy to renewable sources like wind, solar, and hydro. It will also address public-private partnerships (PPP) and how the government can fund the research and development of new nuclear technologies, as well as the role of government-backed funding in supporting innovation in nuclear energy. Additionally, the discussion will cover safety and risk management, along with the role of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) powering data centers and industrial operations in remote areas.

Jonathan Ayre, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Houston, Texas
Martin J. O'Neill, Associate General Counsel, Nuclear Energy Institute, Washington, D.C.
Tim Williamson, Director of Regulatory & Public Affairs, NOV Shepherd Power, Houston, Texas

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. - Energy of Tomorrow – Lower Carbon Fuels and Alternatives (60 min)

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 (45 min)

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) (45 min)

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

MCLE Credit

Texas Course Number 174276129. This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 6.25 credit hours, of which 0.0 credit hours will apply to ethics/professional responsibility credit.

IEL as registrar for the conference will directly apply for course accreditation in the following additional states: California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Some of these states may not approve a program for credit hours before the program occurs. The program Approved credit hours will vary by jurisdiction and are subject to each jurisdiction’s approval and credit rounding rules.

Attorneys may be eligible to receive CLE credit through reciprocity or attorney self-submission in other states. IEL conferences are typically accredited by all mandatory CLE states.

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

Hotel Information

IEL has not arranged a hotel block for this conference, but there are numerous hotel options near the Norris Conference Center. A partial list of potential hotels or motels is included by clicking on the button below. (Note that descriptions and services may have changed for the hotels).

Download Surrounding Hotel Information

Other Information

Press Policy

All IEL conferences are held under the Chatham House Rule. Participants, including journalists, are free to use any information received, but comments may not be attributed to any speaker identiﬁ ed by name or affiliation.

Photo/Audio/Video Release

Registration for or attendance at this event acknowledges consent to be recorded or photographed. We reserve the right to use any photograph/video taken at our events, without the expressed written permission of those included within the photograph/video. We may use the photograph/video in publications or other media material produced, used or contracted including but not limited to: brochures, invitations, books, newspapers, magazines, television, websites, annual reports, newsletters, etc. To ensure the privacy of individuals, images will not be identified using full names or personal identifying information without written approval from the photographed subject

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.

Nondiscriminatory Policy

The Center for American and International Law does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status in educational activities, scholarship programs or admissions.

Privacy Policy

We do not sell or rent information to any outside parties. By providing your information, you will receive postal and electronic communications from the Institute for Energy Law (IEL) of The Center for American and International Law (CAIL) in accordance with CAIL's Privacy Policy. If we co-sponsor a program with another organization, information may be shared between the parties. All such co-sponsors will be identified on the event details and registration page. At any point, you can opt-out or unsubscribe by selecting either link at the bottom of each email or call us at 972.244.3400.

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