International Gas Union

The International Gas Union (IGU) is a global association promoting gas as an energy source. It was founded in 1931, registered in Vevey, Switzerland with the Secretariat located in London, United Kingdom.

IGU has over 150 members, which are gas industry corporations and associations. The working organisation of IGU covers the gas chain from exploration and production, transmission via pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as distribution and combustion of gas at the point of use.

LEADING INDUSTRY CONFERENCES

The IGU organises the leading global events for gas stakeholders: World Gas Conference (WGC), LNG X and the International Gas Research Conference - IGRC X, every three years.

The World Gas Conference is held in the country holding the Presidency of the IGU. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, WGC 2021 was re-branded as WGC 2022 and was held May 23–27, 2022 in Daegu, Korea. The next World Gas Conference will be WGC2025 to be held in Beijing, China May 19-23, 2025.

On November 23, 2020, the IGU announced that Italy has been chosen to hold the organisation's presidency from 2025 to 2028. The city of Milan will also host the 30th World Gas Conference in 2028. Prior to assuming the role of president, the head of Italy's presidential team, Mr Andrea Stegher will serve the IGU as vice president.

With the re-scheduling of World Gas Conference, LNG 2022 was subsequently re-branded to LNG 2023. The event was originally awarded to St. Petersburg, Russia, but was moved and held in Vancouver, Canada from July 10-14, 2023.

The next IGU event will be IGRC 2024 to be held in Banff, Alberta, Canada from May 13-16, 2024.

REPORTS & PUBLICATIONS

The IGU annually issues reports, including the Global Gas Report, World LNG Report and the Wholesale Price Survey Report. In June 2020, the IGU launched the publication, Global Voice of Gas which is published quarterly and received by over 40,000 pre-qualified stakeholders, including: Membership of IGU, senior representatives of governmental and non-governmental bodies and multi-lateral institutions, Energy ministries and regulatory authorities for gas and power, key members of the Upstream, Midstream, Downstream and LNG supply chains, Global Utilities, Transmission and Infrastructure companies.

LEADERSHIP

On November 28, 2023, the IGU announced the appointment of Mr. Menelaos (Mel) Ydreos as its Interim Secretary General, replacing Milton Catelin. The interim Secretary General will act with full authority to lead the IGU’s Secretariat and manage the IGU’s London HQ operations, focusing on membership engagement, international advocacy and the IGU’s flagship events series. Mr. Ydreos previously served as the IGU Director of Public Affairs leading the IGU’s external relations and advocacy activity. He most recently served as the Executive Director for LNG2023 and also served as Chairman, Coordination Committee under the USA IGU Presidency and played a key role in the staging of the World Gas Conference (WGC2018) in Washington DC.

Madam Yalan Li is the President of the IGU for the 2022-2025 triennium on behalf of the Chinese Presidency. Madam Li is Chairperson of the Board of Beijing Gas Group.

Dr. Joe Kang is the past president of the IGU on behalf of the Korean Presidency (2018–2021).