The 13th Annual General Meeting of the EBC (IBC) was held on 10-11 June 2010 in Cannes, France. The AGM was hosted by the EBC member-company Total SA (France) and supported by the EBC members Crédit Agricole and Société Général. The representative of the hosting company Mr. Yves-Louis Darricarrére, President of Exploration and Production, Total S.A, welcomed the participants at the opening ceremony.
The afternoon conference was dedicated to: “Natural Gas – Energy of the 21st Century” and was moderated by Mr. Marcel Kramer, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO, N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie. Many distinguished speakers participated in the conference: Professor Rob de Wijk, Director of the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, Dr. Jochen Weise, Member of the Executive Board of E.ON Ruhrgas AG, Dr. Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Executive Board of Directors, Wintershall Holding GmbH, Mr. Richard Guerrant, President of ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe, Mr. Jean-Marie Dauger, Executive Vice President, Gaz de France SUEZ, Mr. Bengt Lie Hansen, President of Statoil Russia, Mr. Arnaud Breuillac, Senior Vice President for Continental Europe – Central Asia, Total S.A.The exchange of views of the parties on the focal topic of the General meeting helped to analyze possible systemic transformations in the global geopolitical and economic situation expected in the coming decades, as well as to find balanced approaches for the natural gas prospects assessment in the global energy mix.
In 2010 two joint social projects have been launched by “Industry and Construction” and “Ecology and Healthcare” Working Committees: “Natural gas stations in Europe” to develop necessary tools for legal, fiscal, marketing, technical and other necessary conditions for natural gas stations construction and maintenance in European countries and “Technological catalogue” (digital and print versions) to analyze and distribute information about brand-new technologies in energy sector for industrial and private needs. The “Natural gas stations in Europe” project was fully implemented in 2012. Upon the completion of the “Technological catalog” project in 2011 printed and digital versions have been approved by the EBC Board and distributed among the members of the Congress.