Welcome to the ninth issue of Global Voice of Gas magazine, a new way for the global gas community communication.

• Winter is fast-approaching in the northern hemisphere, and with energy prices in most regions soaring, it will prove to be an extremely testing one for many energy systems. Ongoing fallout from
  the Russia-Ukraine conflict, high summer energy demand, and years of suppressed investment in natural gas supply risk causing a perfect storm in the months and possibly years ahead. Fortunately, gas supply, albeit very highly priced at present, continues to deliver energy to where the world most needs it, thanks to its inherent reliability and flexibility.
• The global energy crisis may have brought energy security and affordability to the forefront this year. But stakeholders in the industry must also not take their eye off the ball regarding energy sustainability, particularly given we are in the run-up to the stage- setting CO27 global climate summit, taking place this November in Egypt.
• One of the unfortunate consequences of the energy crisis has been a resurgence of coal, which began even while the previous COP26 summit in Glasgow last year was underway. At that summit, many countries made commitments to phase down their coal use, only to switch coal-burning plants back on this year to keep energy supply stable. It
  is clear that lessons must be learnt, not only with regards to keeping energy affordable and secure, but also ensuring that we are on the right track to meeting our climate commitments.
• In this issue of GVG, one of Europe’s leading gas experts, Anne-Sophie Corbeau, breaks down how Europe’s energy system is likely to fare this winter, as well as how policymakers can best alleviate the hardship.
• We also include an interview with Helge Haugane, senior vice president for gas and power at Equinor, who discusses how Norway is stepping up as a supplier to ease the energy crunch in Europe.
• Freeman Shaheen, president for global gas at Chevron, also talks to us about the need for greater and more stable investment in gas supply to ensure that such market volatility is avoided in the future.
• Kamila Piotrowska, head of EU policy and advocacy at Baker Hughes, explains why next year will be a critical one in ongoing efforts to reduce methane emissions from the energy sector, while Project Canary CEO Chris Romer makes the case for commercial initiatives supporting the creation of a measurement economy for those methane emissions. Ewan Mckenzie, climate director at IPIECA, also discusses pragmatic solutions for future-proofing long-term gas supply investments.
• Given the importance of Africa hosting CO27, we also include a feature on the ways in which African suppliers can step up in providing the gas supply that the world needs, and a second one on the extent to which South and Central American nations can also contribute. GVG also interviews leading voices in the Chilean gas industry on the need for government to recognise the value of gas as a fast-working solution for cutting emissions, and Graeme Bethune, CEO of Energyquest, considers how natural gas has been scapegoated for the problems hitting the Australian energy system right now.

We hope that you will find this issue informative, and useful in getting a better view of the topical global gas dynamics.