IN-PERSON CLASSROOM SEMINARS

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Fundamentals of Today's U.S. Natural Gas Industry
Presented by Jim Crist, President Lumen Group

A Two-Day Classroom Seminar (CPE Approved)

Register Soon to get Early Bird Pricing.

This comprehensive and clearly explained program is for professionals who want to better understand today's North American natural gas industry and get quickly up and running to make intelligent management decisions.

Learn how the production/transportation/delivery infrastructure works and how gas supply flows from wellhead to consumer. Know who the natural gas market participants are and how commercial transactions occur along each segment of the value chain. Understand and apply your knowledge of how the wholesale natural gas, transportation, and customer choice markets operate and where the new opportunities and challenges are in today's dynamic natural gas marketplace.

You will be more confident and benefit from knowing comprehensive nuts-and-bolts fundamentals and understanding regulatory strategies that will manage risk and avoid costly mistakes.

What You Will Learn
  • A detailed understanding of all parts of the natural gas value chain, infrastructure components and how the natural gas industry operates across the value chain spectrum.
  • What natural gas is, how it is created, the different "types" of natural gas based on various factors and sources, terminology, measurements and conversions.
  • The essential of understanding how gas is used, by whom and what are demand drivers and related issues.
  • What the unprecedented growth of unconventional gas supplies mean for the future of natural gas production and how it is changing infrastructures, pipeline flows and delivery options.
  • The issues and dilemmas the industry faces in obtaining supply from new production technologies and understanding what "reserves" are and the various definitions and estimation methods.
  • The basics of gas gathering, operations, markets and regulatory issues.
  • What gas processing is, how it operates, Natural Gas Liquids, and related economic issues in today's market.
  • The importance of gas quality issues and the economic, operational and regulatory concerns about gas quality and the different concerns along the value chain about gas quality and interchangeability.
  • The keys parts of natural gas pipelines, how pipelines operate, who the pipeline companies are and the significant issues pipeline face in a changing market.
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  • The importance of storage, the different types, operations and storage development issues.
  • Significant LDC physical plant-related operations, how they work, LDC economic and rate worries and regulatory trends in today's  evolving markets for global LNG
  • Who regulates what, where, how and why and how FERC and state utility commission policy, major Orders and regulations have evolved into today's "open access" environment.
  • How natural gas delivery and storage is regulated across the value chain and how it continues to evolve in today's environment.
  • Significant FERC regulatory initiatives, policies and Orders that have transformed the industry and currently policy and regulatory issues that impact how the industry operates and the information it collects and disseminates.
  • Evolving State regulatory concerns, issues and the changing role of state regulators.
  • Overview of regulated rate components and rate design and new rate and policies on the horizon.
  • The fundamentals of Rate Proceedings and how to understand capacity issues and pipeline tariffs, transportation services, agreements and rates.
What You Will Also Learn
  • An overview of gas transportation, pooling, nominations, confirmations, scheduling, receipt and delivery point priorities and balancing through the delivery chain.
  • What flow orders, allocations, penalties, interruptions and curtailments are, and why they are important.
  • The essentials of factors involved in bringing gas to market, transportation services and types, rates and rate components and tariff components.
  • The changing dynamics of capacity markets with new production sources, pipelines, storage and LNG projects and the impacts on overall gas transactions, including commodity pricing, basis differentials and pipeline capacity.
  • Who the key commercial value chain participants are and how they manage their respective segments and their different objectives.
  • How marketers put together and process deals through each step in the "Front, Middle and Back Offices".
  • Natural gas pricing concepts and mechanisms and the essentials of locational basis, commodity pricing and overview of the different types of price tools.
  • The essentials of factors impacting price volatility and commodity price components.
  • The major types of transaction risks, the fundamentals of price risks and risk assessment in commercial operations.
  • How to apply pricing strategies, market prices, risk assessment and load requirements for gas procurement strategies and requirements.
Seminar Agenda
  • Day One - Supply, Infrastructures, Operations and Regulatory Issues.
  • Day Two-Transportation, Choice, Tariffs and Pricing.
Your Instructor
Jim Crist
Jim Crist is President of Lumen Group, Inc. headquartered in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. He has over 27 years experience in the energy industry covering coal, gas, oil, propane, and electricity. Jim has conducted many strategic studies of the industry and prepared market and business assessments for several large energy companies. Before founding Lumen Group in 1996, Jim spent 20 years working for major energy companies in engineering, technology development, rate and regulatory policy development and marketing. He served as marketing vice president in both regulated and deregulated entities. His consulting practice provides strategic planning, marketing and business development, and rate and regulatory consulting, along with serving as an expert witness in regulatory proceedings in several jurisdictions.
Hotel and Seminar Information

This two-day seminar will be held at the hotels listed below or can be conducted on-site at your facilities. The seminar will start promptly at 8:00 AM and will finish at 4:00 PM on the first day. On the second day, the seminar will resume at 8:00 AM and will finish at 1:00 PM. The program includes continental breakfast, lunch, and coffee breaks on the first day and continenal breakfast and coffee breaks on the second day. Attendees also receive a professionally produced seminar manual that can serve as a valuable office reference. Dress is casual for all seminars.

COVID 19 Information: Please click here for the PGS Covid-19 policy. You can confirm each hotel's specific COVID 19 policy using the link(s) provided below.
Registration Fee and Discounts
The price for this comprehensive two-day seminar is $1,795 (USD).
Register online or Call (440) 853-1038.
  • Additional attendees and government employees receive a 10% discount.
  • Register 4 or more attendees and receive 20% Off. Special pricing is available for groups of 5 or more.
    If you want attendees to pay with separate credit cards or have other questions, please call (440) 853-1038 for assistance.
Payments and Cancellations
Payment is due prior to the start of the seminar by Visa, Master Card, American Express, or corporate check. Seminar fees will be charged to your credit card at the time of registration unless other arrangements have been made. Please make checks payable to "PGS Energy Training" 26 Teal Lane • Hilton Head Island, SC 29926. Cancellations will result in a credit that is good for 2 years which can be transferred to a colleague. Substitutions may be made at any time. For more information on PGS policies regarding administrative matters and complaint resolution, please contact our offices at (440) 853-1038.
CPE Credits in Specialized Knowledge

This live group seminar is eligible for 11.5 CPE credits. Be aware that state boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. As of January 1, 2002, sponsored learning activities are measured by program length, with one 50-minute period equal to one CPE credit. One-half CPE credit increments (equal to 25 minutes) are permitted after the first credit has been earned in a given learning activity. You may want to verify that the state board from which your participants will be receiving credit accept one-half credits.

PGS Energy Training is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org. CPAs interested in attending any seminars should contact our offices for details on CPE credits granted and any prerequisite requirements.
PGS Energy Training is registered with GARP as an Approved Provider of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits. If you are a Certified FRM or ERP, please record this activity in your Credit Tracker at http://www.garp.org/cpd. Please inform PGS Energy Training that you are a GARP CPE participant upon seminar registration.

The Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) is a not-for-profit membership association dedicated to preparing professionals and organizations for making better-informed risk decisions. GARP's membership represents more than 150,000 risk management practitioners and researchers at academic institutions, banks, corporations, government agencies, and investment management firms in 195 countries and territories. GARP administers the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and Energy Risk Professional (ERP) Exams – certifications recognized by risk professionals worldwide. Visit www.garp.org/cpd.
Who Should Attend

Professionals from natural gas and electric utilities, energy producers, pipelines, municipals, energy marketers, banks, government regulators and industrial companies; energy and electric power executives; new hires; attorneys; government regulators; traders & trading support staff; marketing, sales, purchasing & risk management personnel; accountants & auditors; plant operators, engineers, corporate planners and anyone needing a strong foundation in the U. S. and Canadian natural gas business.

Prerequisites and Advance Preparation

This fundamental level group live seminar has no prerequisites. No advance preparation is required before the seminar.

Why Choose PGS?

PGS seminars are known for their clear explanations and in-depth content. Register for a PGS class today, and join the over 10,000 energy professionals who have already attended one of PGS's proven programs.

Program Level & Delivery Method
Basic level. This fundamental course begins with basic material and then proceeds to the intermediate level. Delivery method is "Group-Live.”