PIPELINE & GAS EXPO 2024 CHARTS COURSE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE
Pipeline & Gas Expo 2024, held 29th–31st May at Piacenza Expo in Italy, brought together industry leaders to explore how the energy sector can transition to more sustainable sources, including biogas and hydrogen, in a way that is both reliable and affordable.
Pipeline & Gas Expo, the only European exhibition dedicated to the midstream oil and gas industry, welcomed around 2,500 visitors through the doors of Piacenza Expo from 29th to 31st May. This number included visitors to the co-located event CYBSEC-EXPO, launched in response to growing concerns over the cybersecurity of energy infrastructure. The mood among participants was positive, with about half of the exhibitors surveyed already feeling the impact of EU investments delivered through Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to build a modern and more sustainable energy infrastructure.
The overarching theme of the 2024 Pipeline & Gas Expo conference was the transition to net zero, focusing on delivering a reliable, resilient, and affordable energy system. In Italy, this begins with tackling the decommissioning of nuclear power plants, following the country’s 1987 decision to phase out nuclear power.
Renato Santinelli, project manager at Nucleco, discussed how the company is processing the waste generated by the Garigliano nuclear power plant, which shut down in 1982, as safely and sustainably as possible. Meanwhile, Stefano Bernieri, CEO of Diamond Pauber, well known in the quarrying and stone industry, shared a case study of the company’s work dismantling the Berkan B cargo shipwreck in Ravenna. He illustrated how Diamond Pauber’s diamond cutting wires could be used to decommission large metal structures, which are common in the energy industry.
Pipeline & Gas Expo 2024, held 29th–31st May at Piacenza Expo in Italy, brought together industry leaders to explore how the energy sector can transition to more sustainable sources, including biogas and hydrogen, in a way that is both reliable and affordable.
Pipeline & Gas Expo, the only European exhibition dedicated to the midstream oil and gas industry, welcomed around 2,500 visitors through the doors of Piacenza Expo from 29th to 31st May. This number included visitors to the co-located event CYBSEC-EXPO, launched in response to growing concerns over the cybersecurity of energy infrastructure. The mood among participants was positive, with about half of the exhibitors surveyed already feeling the impact of EU investments delivered through Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to build a modern and more sustainable energy infrastructure.
The overarching theme of the 2024 Pipeline & Gas Expo conference was the transition to net zero, focusing on delivering a reliable, resilient, and affordable energy system. In Italy, this begins with tackling the decommissioning of nuclear power plants, following the country’s 1987 decision to phase out nuclear power.
Renato Santinelli, project manager at Nucleco, discussed how the company is processing the waste generated by the Garigliano nuclear power plant, which shut down in 1982, as safely and sustainably as possible. Meanwhile, Stefano Bernieri, CEO of Diamond Pauber, well known in the quarrying and stone industry, shared a case study of the company’s work dismantling the Berkan B cargo shipwreck in Ravenna. He illustrated how Diamond Pauber’s diamond cutting wires could be used to decommission large metal structures, which are common in the energy industry.
The role of gas in the energy transition
As the only G8 country without its own nuclear power plants, Italy relies heavily on oil and gas to meet its energy needs. While the country remains committed to developing renewable energy, several sessions at Pipeline & Gas Expo 2024 explored the role of natural gas as a ‘bridge fuel’ on the journey to net zero. Natural gas burns cleaner than coal and oil, producing fewer pollutants like sulphur dioxide and particulate matter. It also exists in abundant reserves around the world and can provide a reliable source of baseload power to be quickly ramped up or down when renewable energy sources such as wind or solar are intermittent.
“[Net zero] is a tremendous goal we have to achieve, and we have to make gas one of the key elements of the future,” explained Andrea Stegher, currently vice-president of the International Gas Union, who will take over the presidency in 2025. “At the end of the day, energy is needed for people and the energy needed by the world is increasing. In Asia and Africa, we will have an immense increase of energy needs – the average per capita consumption of electricity in many sub-Saharan countries is less than half the consumption of a US fridge. We need to make it possible for the world to develop, so we are advocating a pragmatic approach. Transition is not a single path – even in Europe, the transition in Italy is different from in Denmark or Bulgaria. Because we have a global challenge to solve, we have to have global collaboration.”
Biogas, hydrogen and the rise of multi-gas pipelines
While natural gas is preferable to coal or oil, it is still a fossil fuel and releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Therefore, several conference sessions at Pipeline & Gas Expo 2024 also discussed the potential of supplementing natural gas with biogas and hydrogen as a way to reduce emissions quickly and leverage largely existing infrastructure.
“By blending biomethane and hydrogen with the network gas, with the same system and same boilers, and the same burner we have in our house, it will be possible to reach real decarbonisation with very low investment in a very short time,” said Stefano Cagnoli, general director of CIG (the Italian Gas Committee).
These alternative gases are already being implemented. About a third of the exhibitors surveyed at Pipeline & Gas Expo 2024 said they were supplying products and services for biogas pipelines, while roughly a quarter are catering to the hydrogen sector – a trend aligning with the development of multi-gas pipelines. A conference sponsored by IATT (the Italian Association for Trenchless Technologies) focussed on no-dig solutions for these new multi-gas networks. Andrea Castellenata, head of construction at Snam Rete Gas, a major Italian gas network operator, highlighted the company’s plans for around 100 trenchless works over the next five years to facilitate this shift.
The future of pipeline construction
The conference also featured presentations from SICIM and BONATTI, two leading Italian EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractors for the oil and gas industry, discussing their involvement in major Canadian projects. SICIM worked on the Coastal GasLink pipeline project while BONNATTI contributed to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
“I see the future as positive,” said Paolo Zoni, business development manager at SICIM. “We’re talking about the energy transition and that means gas. Whether biogas or hydrogen, the best way to transport those molecules is pipelines so we have to increase the network and [at SICIM] we have more than 60 years’ oil and gas experience to deal with this new market.”
Andrea Scuderi, head of commercial pipeline and Europe at Bonatti, echoed his sentiments: “I’m sure the energy industry is going to need our help for the next 50 years with pipelines. We’re talking a lot about hydrogen, and we’ll need to transport it. Five years ago, we were just reading about carbon capture and now we are working on real carbon capture projects. We are adapting to support the market.”
Cybersecurity networking for the oil and gas industry
Besides the energy transition, almost 90% of exhibitors surveyed identified cybersecurity as major challenge for the industry and the co-location of CYBSEC-EXPO with Pipeline & Gas Expo 2024 provided a valuable opportunity to network with cybersecurity experts and learn about protecting assets in the digital age. The urgency is clear with almost a quarter of survey respondents having experienced a cyberattack and one exhibitor suffering two in just the past three months. Two-thirds of exhibitors said they anticipate increased cybersecurity investments in the next two years. Many of those who said they didn’t plan to invest more did so because they had only recently implemented significant new defence measures.
“This was the second time Pipeline & Gas Expo – a highly specialised event – was held and we are steadily building up our participation numbers. So, it is extremely rewarding to hear feedback already at this stage that we are connecting the right people – typically senior decision makers – to foster innovation and new partnerships for a more secure and sustainable energy future,” said Fabio Potestà, director of Mediapoint & Exhibitions, the company behind Pipeline & Gas Expo.
The next event in Mediapoint & Exhibitions’ calendar is HydrogEn Expo, where many of the conversations surrounding hydrogen at Pipeline & Gas Expo 2024 are expected to continue. HydrogEn Expo 2024 will take place 11–13th September, also at Piacenza Expo in Italy.
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