Energy, technology and geopolitics converge as CERAWeek 2026 brings top executives to Houston this week
Houston becomes a global hub for energy decision-makers
Houston is hosting CERAWeek 2026 from March 23 to March 27, bringing together senior leaders from energy, technology, finance, industry and government for a week of closed-door and public-facing sessions focused on the intersection of markets, policy and innovation.
The conference’s 2026 theme centers on the growing overlap between energy systems and fast-moving technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, amid shifting geopolitical alignments and heightened attention to supply chains and energy security. The program spans oil, natural gas and LNG, electric power and grids, critical minerals and mining, emissions management, chemicals and materials, and workforce issues.
Who is expected in Houston
A published partial roster of speakers for the week includes executives from major oil and gas producers, LNG developers, oilfield services providers, utilities and power generators, as well as leaders from industrial manufacturing, trading, and technology.
- Amin H. Nasser, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco
- Wael Sawan, CEO, Shell
- Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO, TotalEnergies
- Anders Opedal, president and CEO, Equinor
- Mike Wirth, chairman and CEO, Chevron
- Ryan Lance, chairman and CEO, ConocoPhillips
- Vicki Hollub, CEO, Occidental Petroleum
- Olivier Le Peuch, CEO, SLB
- Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO, Baker Hughes
- Jack Fusco, president and CEO, Cheniere Energy
- Michael Smith, chairman, CEO and founder, Freeport LNG
- Russell Hardy, CEO, Vitol
- John Ketchum, chairman, president and CEO, NextEra Energy
- Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer, Alphabet and Google
- James D. Farley Jr., president and CEO, Ford Motor Company
- Jim Fitterling, chair and CEO, Dow
- Chris Levesque, president and CEO, TerraPower
- Laura V. Swett, chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Ditte Juul Jørgensen, director-general for energy, European Commission
- Shaikh Nawaf Al-Sabah, deputy chairman and CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
- Hon. Danielle Smith, premier of Alberta
What the agenda signals: power demand, AI, and infrastructure constraints
Several scheduled sessions highlight the pressure that rising electricity demand—driven in part by data centers and broader electrification—can place on generation, transmission and permitting timelines. Early-week programming includes discussions focused on grid capacity, “powering the AI revolution,” and infrastructure buildout, alongside sessions on LNG market shifts, upstream investment strategies, and critical minerals supply.
CERAWeek’s 2026 program places repeated emphasis on the convergence of energy expansion with technology investment, and on how competition, trade frictions and supply-chain constraints can shape near- and long-term energy strategy.
Why Houston matters in this conversation
The conference’s location reinforces Houston’s role as a central meeting point for global energy capital, technical expertise, and corporate operations spanning oil and gas, LNG, petrochemicals, power markets, and emerging low-carbon technologies. This week’s gatherings are expected to concentrate executive-level discussions on investment decisions, policy risk, infrastructure bottlenecks, and the practical implications of rising global energy demand.