Energy Policy and Investment Strategies. The Limits of Oil and
Gas. Biofuels and Renewable Energy. Sustainable Development
and Regional Cooperation. Forecasts.
January
12, 2007
The Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY
Registration
Welcome and Introduction: Prof. Mauricio Font,
Director, Bildner Center
Opening Remarks: Dr. Sidney Weintraub, CSIS
Panel I: Energy Policy and Strategies in North America
(Canada, Mexico, and the United States)
• Energy in the United States: Needs, Vulnerabilities
and the Battle for Market Shares: Alberto Cisneros-Lavaller,
Global Business Consultants
• Robert Ebel, Chairman, Energy Program, CSIS
• Canada: Annette Hester, CSIS
• Kathy Sendall, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
• Moderator: Dr. Sidney Weintraub, CSIS
Panel II: Hemispheric Energy Policy and Investment
Strategies
• Brazil and Biofuels: A New Energy Paradigm: Minister Antonio Simões – Director,
Department of Energy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Brazil)
• Albert Bressand, Center on Energy, Marine Transportation,
and Public Policy, Columbia University
• John Kingston, Global Director of Oil, Platts
• Moderator: Prof. Mauricio Font, Director, Bildner Center
Lunch Keynote Speakers:
• Luis Giusti, CSIS
• Edward L. Morse, Managing Director and Chief
Energy Economist at Lehman Brothers
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INTRODUCTION
This seminar
explores the energy sector in the Western Hemisphere, with a
focus on new policy dynamics, strategies and investment opportunities.
The United States and most of the countries in the hemisphere
rely on regional sources of energy. While some countries in
the region rely on energy production and revenues to drive investments
and economic growth, most find themselves pressed by volatile
conditions in the world market and supply sources. How to address
imbalances and tap opportunities is a top priority for countries
and businesses. Increasingly, they are designing fresh strategies.
The seminar identifies the new approaches, paying attention
to opportunities for collaboration.
The seminar
draws heavily from distinguished experts from different countries
in the region. We rely heavily on a new study by Sidney Weintraub
and associates at the Center for Strategic International Studies.
Their Energy Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere: Benefits
and Impediments recognizes the need for an international
political economic approach and country-based analysis to address
challenges and opportunities in the energy sector. Impediments
to hemispheric agreement and the urgent need to better understand
them receive attention. The Bildner seminar also features renowned
regional specialists Alberto Cisneros and others, who will discuss
energy-related infrastructure projects under consideration and
implementation in several parts of the hemisphere. This event
will be of interest to policymakers, business, and academics.
Many countries
of the Western Hemisphere are implementing or designing new
mechanisms for energy cooperation to secure the kinds of investments
and infrastructure required for large-scale energy projects.
The workshop considers these opportunities and prospects for
cooperation, taking into account the factors that have impeded
cooperation in the past. Cooperation will enhance the stability
of hemispheric demand for producing countries and further develop
capabilities to meet rising demands and satisfy social, economic,
and political needs.
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THE
CSIS STUDY
"Energy
Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere: Benefits and Impediments" is based on a two-year research project on energy in the
hemisphere. The study draws on country political analyses and
the challenges countries face. It probes historical factors (such as Bolivia’s unwillingness to build a gas pipeline through
Chile because of historical grievances), political divisions such as Mexico’s inability to reach agreement on private
equity investment in gas exploitation), technical challenges (including the capacity to ship more liquefied natural gas or
LNG from Trinidad and Tobago and other sources to U.S. ports), dangerous conditions (especially in the Colombian case
where large oil reserves conflict with guerilla activity), ideological
fervor ( currently creating political tensions in Venezuela),
and intra-hemisphere political disagreements which
have historically hampered the countries’ ability to successfully
forge hemispheric cooperation. Dr. Weintraub is The William
E. Simon Chair in Political Economy at CSIS.
The team used a three-pronged approach in its examination of
energy in the Western Hemisphere: 1) extensive in country- country
research and interviews which set the empirical basis for the
analyses of current arrangements, infrastructure, and existing
impediments to cooperative understandings; 2) interviews and
feedback from key stakeholders, including governments, major
oil interests and other relevant actors were crucial for further
analyses of current conditions and future projects, and analyses
of political will for hemispheric cooperation; and 3) convening
a working group of experts and practitioners to discuss findings
and ways to overcome challenges that will build consensus around
policy recommendations for the future of energy in the region.
At the Bildner
Center conference, Sidney Weintraub and his team will present
their findings and offer forecasts in hopes of creating a more
stable, energy cooperative Western Hemisphere.
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REGIONAL
DEVELOPMENTS AND ISSUES
Many experts
forecast that rising consumption will bring about major energy
shortages in the Western Hemisphere within 30 years. Faced with
the prospects of shortages and the eventual depletion of oil
sources, the rush is on for discovering new hydrocarbon reserves
or developing new technologies. Policymakers and investors are
examining alternative sources of energy. Brazil’s project for
converting biomass into energy and that of deriving fuel ethanol
from sugarcane presents is a noteworthy example in the development
of an alternative source of energy for sustainable development.
Brazil appears to have arrived at a successful formula for stabilizing
its energy supply and promoting an environmentally conscious
source of fuel – while also creating a substantial number of
jobs (approximately 700,000 jobs with its large-scale production
of fuel ethanol from sugar cane). The Bildner Center’s meeting
will explore this and other cases in a discussion of sustainable
development in the energy sector.
Underground
resources are the patrimony of national governments and hence
subject to political as well as market forces. Currently, Bolivia
and Ecuador have initiated processes renegotiating contracts
with foreign producers. Some aim at the redesign of energy sectors.
What are regional implications of these moves? How will they
affect investment patterns? What is the role of cooperation
and integration? Natural gas, the fastest growing primary energy
source in Latin America and in the entire world, presents an
opportunity for regional energy integration. Regional integration
may provide protection against dependency risks. But, are Latin
American countries ready to participate in transnational energy
projects? What risks and dynamics do these projects pose?
To register:
- By Phone Using Credit Card - contact Brian Freeman or Diana
Narvaez at 212-817-2096
- By Mail - send the registration form (pfd) and check or money order to:
The Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies
365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5209
New York, NY 10016
This
event is a partnership between
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