On Tuesday, November 6, 2018 the Haskayne School of Business hosted the second annual Progress Energy International Speaker Series, this year featuring Harry Tchilinguirian, the global head of commodity markets strategy and senior oil market strategist at BNP Paribas. A downtown crowd of over 600 people (nearly double the inaugural event) attended the luncheon, held at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre. Tchilinguirian’s 30-minute speech was followed by a question-and-answer period moderated by Peter Tertzakian, executive director of ARC Energy Research Institute.
A leading authority on the state of oil and energy commodity markets, Tchilinguirian drew on his extensive international experience to bring a broader perspective to the Calgary audience. The main theme of the day was oil.
Tchilinguirian noted international divestment from Canadian oil plays by multinational companies and banking institutions is primarily due to perception challenges on the oil industry’s environmental impact. He highlighted signs pointing to the emergence of the United States moving towards energy dominance as opposed to energy security and the dynamics of international geopolitics between Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States with regards to supply and demand. He noted Canada is one of the leading contributors to non-OPEC supply but much of Canadian reserves have a long time to production and logistic problems plague Canadian products.
Tchilinguirian saw the future of gas being bright, and said the expected completion of the LNG project in British Columbia in 2025 is well suited to meet anticipated market needs.
“Through our partnership with Petronas Canada, we are pleased to bring world-renowned international energy experts to Calgary,” said Jim Dewald, dean, Haskayne School of Business. “The complexity of our global economy is increasing. By bringing an international perspective to a Calgary audience we are broadening the perspective of our students and the business community.” Last year’s event featured former U.S. secretary of energy, Ernest Moniz.
Frequently sought after as a commentator on Bloomberg and CNBC, Tchilinguirian joined BNP Paribas Global Markets in August 2006 and is currently part of the firm’s Global Markets research group. Earlier, he was global head of commodity markets strategy with the firm’s commodity derivatives business line.
He previously worked at the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris for six years in the oil markets and industry division. As senior oil market analyst, he was a contributor to the IEA’s benchmark monthly Oil Market Report. Prior to this, he worked at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the economic departments.
