Energy experts gathered at Texas A&M University School of Law to kick off the ninth annual energy symposium hosted by the law school’s Natural Resources Systems (NRS) Program on March 1-2, 2018.
The symposium, titled “Texas Energy Today and Tomorrow: Its Impact in the U.S., Mexico and Beyond,” was organized by NRS Program Director, Professor Gabriel Eckstein.
The symposium opened with a presentation by Enrique Hidalgo, President of ExxonMobil Exploración y Producción México S.R.L. de C.V. Hidalgo described the changes in the energy sector and particularly the impact that the Mexican energy reforms had in the North America region.
The keynote speech was followed by a panel of experts on U.S.-Mexico energy relations, including Matthew Rooney, the Director of Economic Growth at the George W. Bush Institute; Mexico's former Deputy Secretary of Energy for Hydrocarbons, Lourdes Melgar; and two commissioners from energy-related agencies in Mexico: Sergio Pimentel, Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) and Guillermo Zuñiga, Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE).
The panel was moderated by Texas A&M School of Law Professor Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez and discussed the deep ties that Texas, the U.S. and Mexico have in the development of the energy sector in the North America.
“Listening to the panel was a fantastic opportunity for students, practitioners and energy lawyers to understand the potential of analyzing Mexico and the U.S. as a region. The future of energy in these two nations is highly interdependent. We can no longer talk about the U.S. and Mexico as having two different markets, we now see a regional energy market that flows from Alberta’s tar sands all the way down to Oaxaca’s windmill farms, and Texas is right at the center of this energy regional integration,” Garcia said.
During this two-day symposium, experts employed in the energy sector shared information and looked to others for ways to improve the direction of energy as it relates to current legal parameters and consumer usage. One of the many attending experts and panelists, Professor Joel Eisen of University of Richmond School of Law, believes energy symposiums like this one are imperative.
“There are many reasons why a law school should host an energy law symposium,” Eisen said. “It enables the students and other attendees to learn about recent important developments in the field; it enables the students and professors to meet and get to know practitioners, regulators and others who are active in the field; and it enables students to network with attorneys and others to search for professional positions in the field.”
The width and breadth of topics covered by the symposium allowed acknowledged energy experts to gain additional knowledge about the field. “It’s always a pleasure to exchange ideas with other scholars, and by visiting Texas I learned more about the unique regulatory structures that govern energy development in the state, which are different from those of other states,” he said.
Texas A&M Law second-year student Matt Koronczok said he was enriched by the energy symposium.
“The panel on nuclear energy production and waste disposal was most interesting because I had never realized how closely the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality work with each other to complete projects,” Koronczok said.
The symposium also included “Young Scholars” presentations. Eisen believes this event is important because it engages students.
“Students can volunteer to assist with the development of symposia such as this. Also, as was well-demonstrated at the symposium, students can research and write papers in the field and then present them for comments. This feedback can strengthen the papers and make them more worthy of eventual publication. Finally, students can work with individual professors to gain more knowledge of the field,” Eisen said.
Symposiums like this aid students interested in energy law who are working towards a legal career in agriculture, environmental, energy law, oil and gas law or water law.
- Article by Tyra Kelly, Texas A&M University School of Law; photos by Doug Thurman, Texas A&M University School of Law