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Today's Natural Gas Industry, New Regulatory/Pipeline Dynamics, and How Physical Natural Gas Transactions Are Done

A Two-Day Classroom Seminar (CPE Approved)
Register soon for Early Bird pricing.
Today's Natural Gas Industry, New Regulatory/Pipeline Dynamics, and How Physical Natural Gas Transactions Are Done
This seminar date has passed. Upcoming dates for this course are listed below. You can also take this course online, anytime.
Upcoming dates & locations
Houston, TX — November 12 & 13, Courtyard Marriott Houston by the Galleria
Online Training Option — Take this course anytime/anywhere (No CPE). Learn more →

This comprehensive and clearly explained program is for professionals who are seeking an in-depth understanding of today's North American natural gas industry and want to be up and running to make intelligent and prudent trading and buying decisions.

Learn how the transportation/delivery infrastructure works and how deals are done. 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 and transportation markets operate and where the new opportunities are in today's dynamic natural gas marketplace.

You will be more confident and benefit from knowing comprehensive nuts-and-bolts fundamentals through to understanding physical transactions and strategies to start making money and avoiding 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.
  • The basics of natural gas production, drilling techniques and economic and market issues around production operations in different types of production basins that impact supply availability.
  • What does the unprecedented growth of unconventional gas supplies mean for the future of natural gas production and how it is change infrastructures, pipeline flows and delivery options.
  • The issues and dilemmas the industry faces in obtaining supply from new plays with 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, NGL extraction flows, 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 players are and the significant issues pipeline face in a changing market.
  • The importance of storage, the different types, operations and storage development issues.
  • How LNG terminals work and how North American supply developments are impacting the evolving markets for global LNG.
  • Significant LDC physical plant-related operations, how they work, LDC economic and rate worries and regulatory trends in today's market.
  • Who regulates what, where, how and why and how FERC 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 "hot" policy and regulatory issues that may significantly change how the industry operates and the information it collects and disseminates.
  • The impacts of FERC's policies on new pipelines, expansions and capacity.
  • 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 Certificate and Rate Proceedings and how to understand capacity matters and pipeline tariffs, transportation services, agreements and rates.
What You Will Also Learn
  • How to assess transportation services and options and understand the wide range of transportation services and arrangements.
  • How the natural gas transportation and capacity release business is handled along each segment of the delivery value chain and how it operates.
  • The essentials and the changing dynamics of transportation capacity markets due to unprecedented infrastructure operational and flow changes.
  • The details of gas transportation, pooling, nominations, confirmations, scheduling, receipt and delivery point priorities and balancing through the delivery chain.
  • What PDAs, OBAs, OFOs, etc., 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 pipeline tariff components.
  • The terminology, concepts and mechanics of physical natural gas trading, wholesale market centers, and pool-to-pool virtual title transfers.
  • 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".
  • How wholesale physical gas trading is done at physical market centers and the critical roles that transportation management and capacity release play in determining gas delivery pricing.
  • 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, Capacity, Wholesale Market Operations 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 & 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 12:00 PM. The program includes continental breakfast, lunch, and coffee breaks. 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 see the PGS COVID-19 policy. You can confirm each hotel's specific COVID-19 policy using the link(s) below.

November 12 & 13
Courtyard Marriott Houston by the Galleria
2900 Sage Road
Houston, TX 77056
Registration Fee & Discounts

The price for this comprehensive two-day seminar is $1,795 (USD).

Register online or call (843) 212-4038.

Save $100 per seminar order if you register before the cutoff date.

Houston — November 12 & 13
Cutoff date for discount: October 23, 2026
  • 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. Call (843) 212-4038 for assistance.
Payments & Cancellations

Payment is due prior to the start of the seminar by Visa, Master Card, American Express, or corporate check. Seminar fees are charged at the time of registration unless other arrangements have been made. Checks payable to “PGS Energy Training,” 26 Teal Lane, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926. Cancellations result in a credit good for 2 years, transferable to a colleague. Substitutions may be made at any time. For more on PGS policies, contact our offices at (843) 212-4038.

CPE Credits

This live group seminar is eligible for 11.0 CPE credits in Specialized Knowledge. 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 accepts one-half credits.

PGS is a NASBA-registered CPE sponsor and a GARP-approved CPD provider — see accreditation details.