“If We’re Not At The Table, It’s Russia Or China” Featuring Amy Roma, Hogan Lovells

We had a fantastic session today with Amy Roma, Partner and Global Energy Practice Leader at Hogan Lovells. Amy has served at Hogan Lovells since 2007 and as you will hear, her work focuses on the commercial nuclear energy industry. Her efforts have earned her recognition as one of the Top 10 most innovative lawyers in North America by the Financial Times and the National Law Journal named her one of the most impactful minds at the "intersection of energy and the environment." Amy is freshly back from COP 28 and we covered a broad range of topics in today’s discussion centered on Amy’s nuclear expertise and key themes from her firsthand experience at the conference.

In our discussion, we begin by exploring her expectations for this year’s COP. Amy shares insights on her interactions with OPEC, her motivation to attend COP 28 following a disappointing COP 26, and the shift she has seen towards more serious considerations of decarbonization, energy affordability, reliability, and security. We discuss the business case for nuclear energy, unique financing models to mitigate risks, the challenges of establishing a secure fuel supply chain, Amy’s role and where she spends most of her time, and the team and expertise at Hogan Lovells. We touch on the pace of progress around nuclear in the United States compared to internationally, the strategic importance for the US to be a leader in the global nuclear market, and some of the new interest in nuclear Amy has seen from industrial participants. We end with Amy’s thoughts on what the nuclear landscape might look like in ten years. Thank you, Amy, for joining and sharing your insights with us all!

Mike Bradley kicked us off by discussing bond yields and the Wednesday FED meeting. He noted WTI price weakness is mostly due to the same issues that have plagued it for the last several weeks and further noted the plunge in U.S. natural gas from early-November levels given above-average U.S. storage levels and U.S. production that has recently averaged ~2-3bcfd higher than previous months. He highlighted that broader equity markets are trading back to near March 2022 levels due to the recent pullback in interest rates and a belief that the FED will pull off a "soft-landing" for the U.S. economy. He noted that the COP28 conference had all but concluded but that diplomats were still working after-hours to craft fossil fuel "wording" for their final official communique. He noted that "phase down" wording is important for some COP28 delegates but for all intents and purposes, it’s less important for most countries that will do what’s ultimately best for their own citizens. He wrapped by highlighting that Ford is reducing their 2024 F-150 Lighting (EV) production, and that it was a positive development for their shareholders as it means less future capex, less EV losses, more FCF and higher ROCE employed. Jeff Tillery and Brett Rampal also joined today’s session and added their perspective and questions to the mix with Amy.

Thanks to you all for your support and friendship!