of the conference’s National Organizing Committee and executive vice president of gas and power business for Malaysia-based Petronas, told the room full of media on WGC2012’s opening day. Even on day one, Ahmad continued, WGC2012 — which ran from June 4–8 — had already surpassed expectations. A record-breaking 712 abstracts were submitted, and more than 900 industry professionals contributed their expertise to three special task forces and 10 committees that helped define the conference. While IGU expected the number of delegates to top out close to 3,500, more than 5,299 from 90 countries showed up, along with nearly 14,000 trade visitors. There were also 220 exhibiting companies on the 122,709-square-foot show floor — spread over 10 halls in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre — and more than 575 speakers in a variety of formats, from keynote addresses headed by industry CEOs to Interactive Expert Showcases allowing attendees to speak one-on-one with presenters. WGC is a triennial show, so preparations for WGC2012

started more than three years ago, when IGU set up three special task forces to explore the industry’s most press- ing issues. The Geopolitics of Gas task force, for example, addressed the political role of natural gas on a global scale. “Natural gas will play a more prominent role in the energy mix,” Ahmad said, “as economies pursue less carbon-inten- sive energy options.”

YOUNG AT HEART The other two task forces — Building Strategic Human Capital and Nurturing Future Generations — focused on the industry’s unique challenge of finding and attracting a bright young workforce. The results were obvious at WGC2012. Of the five days I spent at the conference, it didn’t seem that a session went by without someone mentioning the pressing need to attract new talent. As a result, this year a youth conference was held along-

side WGC’s regular program for the first time, drawing 250 students from around the world to participate in their own program in Petronas Tower 3, next door to the convention center. In addition to a four-day “Fun With Natural Gas Car- nival” for children ages 5 to 17, the five-day program had stu- dents ages 18 to 30 participating in discussion sessions with speakers, attending keynotes given by industry CEOs, and

Ceremonious and Serious The 2012 World Gas Conference attracted more than 5,299 delegates from 90 countries and addressed the world’s exploding energy needs.

— the pièce de résistance — fighting it out in the NRG Battle: World Edition, a competition that challenges teams of the world’s best and brightest students to come up with practical solutions for some of the industry’s biggest challenges. The final round of the NRG Battle was held in the con-

vention center’s 500-seat Plenary Theatre. The room was packed, the air buzzing, as four teams of five students each

— narrowed down from the original field of 100 participants — presented their solutions to a jury made up of vice presidents

PCMA.ORG AUGUST 2012 PCMA CONVENE 71