Speaker Louis W. Powers
Position: President
Company: Powers Petroleum Consultants
The U. S. economy has relied on inexpensive and abundant energy since becoming a world power. Technical advances in oil and gas discovery and extraction have allowed the world to increase the quantities of proved oil and gas. Unfortunately for the world supply of oil, a variety of issues have inhibited producers from maintaining a surplus of capacity in the world, thereby allowing crude prices to increase. Those issues include various government actions, continuing wars, red tape, nationalization, and terrorist activities. Transportation decisions made over the years have contributed to making the U. S. a giant oil consumer.
Today, with the emerging economies of China, India and other developing nations, the world-wide energy demand is growing faster than producing companies and countries have been able to bring on new supply resources. The United States continues to use large quantities of oil for transportation fuel.
One of the few regions of the world that could ultimately produce more oil is the Middle East and 20 years of war has taken its toll. Without peace and stability, the Middle East countries’ potential to produce more oil for a hungry world will be limited. Now we have what has been tagged the Arab Spring. Where it goes no one knows. This presentation will focus upon Saudi Arabia and its ability to produce more oil.
For the complete view, you can read the speaker’s new book The World Energy Dilemma , published by PennWell Publishing.
Delivered at General Meeting, SPE-GCS September 2011