Largest turnout expected for energy summitCARLSBAD Sep 11 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency, LLC - Sarah Matott Carlsbad Current-Argus, N.M.More than 800 people have RSVP'd to the 2015 Southeastern New Mexico Energy Summit to be held Monday, city officials said. The third annual summit will take place at the Carlsbad Civic Center and more than 1,000 people are expected to attend the event. Kyle Marksteiner, summit committee member, said that they have acquired extra generators and extra parking has been made available for Monday. "Last year we had about 300 people RSVP at this time," Marksteiner said. "And we are not turning away anyone who shows up to attend." Marksteiner also said that even though the headlining guest speakers will be in the morning, the afternoon panels will be just as informative. Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway said in a previous interview that the summit is meant to tell the community about what is happening here in the energy industry. It will feature speakers in connection with the nuclear, oil, natural gas and potash industries, "This event has just gotten to be unbelievable," Janway said in an email. "We have something like 70 different sponsors, including more than 30 booths, and the best list of speakers of probably any event that has ever happened here." Among the list of speakers is New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce and oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens. Pickens is the founder of Mesa Petroleum and is the current chairman of the BP Capital Management hedge fund. Vice President of Public Affairs for BP Capital Jay Rosser said Pickens is one of the greatest advocates for the oil and gas industries in America. "He has dedicated himself to helping America understand the energy resources of this country and how those resources can be used to address the nation's OPEC oil dependence problem," Rosser said. Pickens is looking to share that message with Carlsbad and to talk about other key energy issues facing the country, Rosser said. In addition to the more well-known names, after lunch the summit will feature panels with local leaders and other industry representatives. Aside from the oil and gas industries being the largest focus of the summit, the afternoon will also feature panels regarding nuclear-related operations in the area. This includes representatives from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Los Alamos National Laboratory, URENCO and Holtec International. Other local community members who will participate in panels include Eddy County Commissioner Stella Davis, Eddy County Undersheriff Mark Cage and Carlsbad Fire Chief Rick Lopez. Sarah Matott can be reached at 575-628-5546. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm |