BVR had 100 online attendees for its webcast of the Houston ASA Energy Valuation Conference, and more than 100 attendees were on-site, so it was another strong turnout for this event, which is in its 12th year. It was a full-day conference hosted by the Houston chapter of the American Society of Appraisers, and here are just a few takeaways:
- Transactions have become rare in most downstream segments as buyers currently lack access to capital markets, reports Horace Hobbs, formerly the chief economist at Phillips 66;
- Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are enhancing transaction values, says Thomas J. McNulty (Chiron Financial), who presented some case studies;
- Several speakers mentioned the rise of electric vehicles in the context of the government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030—although a third of all vehicles sold by 2030 will be electric, that will not be enough to help achieve the target reduction;
- Michelle Michot Foss, Ph.D. (Rice University, Baker Institute), “rocked the boat” with her prediction that it will take 150 years to get to net zero—not by 2050, as the government predicts; she also gave her views on climate change and what the public data purportedly show and recommended a book: Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters, by Steven E. Koonin.
Johnnie White, ASA’s CEO, was also there, and he mentioned the organization’s new headquarters, a systems overhaul, a new PR campaign to raise awareness, and its recently launched website. On its old website, the most clicks were to “find an appraiser,” so that feature is front and center on the new site. There’s also a live chat feature.
Other speakers discussed midstream and upstream valuations, property tax issues, and valuing renewable energy assets for purchase price allocations. We’ll have a more detailed recap in the July issue of Business Valuation Update.