Central Texas Chapter

Mark Your Calendars for the Next USAEE Central Texas Chapter Seminar!

We’re excited to invite you to our second in-person event of 2025, hosted by the Central Texas Chapter of the U.S. Association for Energy Economics (USAEE) in partnership with the Bureau of Economic Geology at UT Austin.

Topic: Infrastructure and Project Finance Rating Criteria – What Drives Credit Ratings for LNG and Infrastructure Projects?

Thursday, September 4 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Yarborough Branch Library, Room #1 | 2200 Hancock Drive, Austin, TX

Free Admission (Easy Parking too)

Featured Speaker:

Yury Issaev, Director at Fitch Ratings, will summarize Fitch’s Infrastructure & Project Finance Rating Criteria and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project Rating Criteria. The Infrastructure & Project Finance criteria outline Fitch’s framework for rating debt instruments in the infrastructure sector, focusing on key risks such as revenue, supply, operation, and debt structure. The LNG criteria apply this methodology to LNG projects, highlighting unique sector risks like refinancing, supply, and merchant exposure. Both criteria aim to provide a transparent, systematic approach for assessing the credit risk of infrastructure and LNG projects.

This seminar will be especially relevant for those curious about:

How project-financed LNG facilities are evaluated
The impact of value chain length and product reconversion in fuels like ammonia and hydrogen
Why some energy projects face unique financing hurdles
What infrastructure sectors might benefit from IRA incentives

We’ll also continue the conversation on the evolving role of hydrogen, ammonia, and LNG in global energy markets. Come with your questions—and stay for informal networking with professionals and students from across the energy and finance sectors.

Bring a colleague, share with your network, and let’s build a strong Central Texas energy economics community!

USAEE Central Texas Chapter Kicks Off 2025 with Timely Economic Insights

CTX 062625 3 On June 26, 2025, the USAEE Central Texas Chapter hosted its first meeting of the year, bringing together a dynamic group of local energy economists, analysts, regulators, and University of Texas students.

We were honored to welcome Dean Foreman, Chief Economist of the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) and current USAEE President, who delivered a timely and thought-provoking presentation on U.S. macroeconomic and energy market trends. Dean’s remarks covered:

🔹 U.S. Economic Outlook: Macro uncertainties and recession risks following the latest U.S. GDP release—the final Q1 2025 report—which notably omitted key inventory and trade data, adding to economic uncertainty.
🔹 Oil Market Fundamentals: Generationally low U.S. crude inventories, with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at its lowest level since 1984 and commercial crude stocks down 5% since mid-April, now sitting at the bottom of the five-year range. With only about 40 days of supply on hand, concerns over market vulnerability amid heightened geopolitical risks are rising.
🔹 Natural Gas Developments: Recent domestic price declines despite record-high LNG exports, driven by historically elevated storage inventories.
🔹 Texas Electricity Markets: Updates on ERCOT load growth, generation mix shifts, and evolving retail and industrial electricity prices in Texas, with comparisons to neighboring New Mexico and Louisiana.
🔹 Texas Oil & Gas Trends: Latest insights on Texas oil and natural gas production, productivity, and employment patterns.

The session drew attendees from Fitch Ratings, the Railroad Commission of Texas, InsideOut Partners, Texas International Energy Group, ReSolved Energy Consulting, and UT Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology.

A special thanks to our speaker and all who participated in an engaging and insightful discussion. We look forward to building on this momentum and strengthening the Central Texas energy economics community throughout 2025. Stay tuned for details on our next event!

About the Central Texas Chapter

The Central Texas Chapter of the United States Association for Energy Economics (CTAEE) is committed to expanding the reach of energy information in both the private and public sectors of Austin, San Antonio, and the rest of Central Texas. The Chapter focuses on current energy issues and research at the state, national, and international levels. It provides an excellent forum to meet, network, and exchange ideas in the regional energy community.

Local programs are planned five times a year and feature both local and national experts as speakers.

To get in touch with us at the Central Texas Chapter, please contact one of the representatives below. They can help answer any questions you may have.

Central Texas Officers

To Be Announced

Central Texas Events

Infrastructure and Project Finance Rating Criteria – What Drives Credit Ratings for LNG and Infrastructure Projects? | Thursday, September 4
Energy Market Realities and Macroeconomic Signals: A 2025 Mid-Year Perspective | Thursday, June 26

Presentations & Publications

EPA's Proposed Clean Power Plan Rules: Economic Modeling and Effects on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Region - April 8, 2015 - Workshop Agenda