A new turning point for energy shown on day one of CERAWeek by S&P Global
“A consequential time for energy and the world,” was how S&P Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin began his opening remarks, as the 2025 session of CERAWeek by S&P Global kicked off on March 10th in the Hilton Americas hotel. The sentiment was echoed through the panels to follow and proved a central theme to the day’s discussions.
An opening leadership dialogue hosted by Chairman Yergin and Energy Secretary Chris Wright began the conference with a burst of energy, quickly fanned by heartening comments from the 17th U.S. Energy Secretary. Emphasis on a new era of energy was apparent from the first few minutes, with Secretary Wright going so far as to remark, “Energy is not a sector of the economy; it is the sector of the economy.” And with a potential new era of energy production dawning, the age-old energy trilemma—security, affordability and sustainability—continued to rear its head in the many day-one panel discussions.
A.I., as with last year, remained a point of focus, with many executives homing in on the more specific uses that will—in their view—outlast the initial hype of 2023–2024’s conference discussions. The reality of A.I.’s data center infrastructure and its vast energy needs has become apparent, with technology majors like Meta and Google pursuing a variety of methods, from nuclear to geothermal. As was touched on by numerous speakers, the time is ripe for energy majors and the industry at large to shine as the perfect compliment to this emerging technology—not only unlocking U.S. innovation but also providing future efficiency gains for oil and gas as well.
To that end, LNG also dominated the conversations at CERAWeek, with speakers such as President and CEO Amin Nasser, of Aramco, highlighting the liquid fuel’s established potential as the ideal independent and supplemental fuel. With rising regular demand and the added strain of increasing A.I. draws on power supply, LNG is extremely flexible and able to both meet this demand on its own and stabilize energy supply from more unpredictable renewable sources, such as the 12 GW of wind and solar Nasser cited in one panel. Existing enthusiasm for the fuel was bolstered by Secretary Wright’s mention of commitment to permitting reform and implementation of the kind of “durable policy” that could redefine the way the industry operates under U.S. regulation.
And on that note: for U.S.-based majors and the U.S. Energy Secretary, the echoes of the current administration’s “America First” mantra could be heard in the emphasis on U.S.-based operations. The recently renamed “Gulf of America” (GOA) debuted at the conference with the Energy Secretary’s remarks and continued a presence as executives from majors like Chevron commented on a shift in focus to U.S.-based assets. Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth from Chevron noted that the major had seen “geographic orientation” of late, focusing their efforts on a portfolio of Permian and GOA assets to meet the ever-growing demand for power. U.S. manufacturing also saw mention from both the Energy Secretary and Chevron, with specific emphasis placed on items like the graphic processing units (GPUs) necessary to power the A.I. revolution as well as broader scale “reindustrialization,” as Secretary Wright put it.
With the rapid-fire pace of the new U.S. administration and similar changes happening in other countries around the globe, it’s unsurprising that CERAWeek opened to near-disruptive applause to the Energy Secretary’s remarks on a new era of energy production and regulation. With four days to go, it seems unlikely that discussions on the energy industry as a whole at CERAWeek will slow down.
