OIL, OIL POLITICS
Summer 2013
"International Council Members Debate Critical Issues"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
The Belfer Center launched its annual International Council meeting on April 9 with animated discussions of, among others, U.S. energy politics, the links between economic policy and national security, cybersecurity, and the rise of China. Participants included members of the Center's International Council and Board of Directors as well as faculty and senior fellows.
Summer 2013
"Conference Spotlights Saudi Arabia’s Role in the Middle East"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Turki Al Faisal told a standing-room only audience at Harvard Kennedy School in April that his nation is investing huge sums in solar, wind, and nuclear energy to reduce domestic reliance on its oil reserves. Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia’s security depends on a healthy energy policy that uses oil to earn export revenues rather than for domestic consumption.
April 30, 2013
Obama’s Dilemma: The Keystone XL Pipeline Decision
News
By Zahra Hirji
David Keith, Michael Levi, and Elana Schor discussed how the media influence public debate on the Keystone XL decision during a special seminar sponsored by the Environment and Natural Resources Program.
April 30, 2013
Energy and the Arab Awakening: A View from Riyadh
News
The Middle East Initiative and Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs hosted distinguished scholars and energy experts from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a panel discussion on Thursday, April 25. The panelists included Dr. Mohammed Al Sabban, Professor, King Abdulaziz University, former advisor to Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; Mr. Ali Al Shihabi, Founder, Rasmala Investment Bank; and Mr. Abdulaziz al Fahad, Principal of Abdulaziz al Fahad Law Firm.
www.trade.gov
August 2012
"Natural Gas Development in Kurdistan: A Financial Assessment"
Paper
By Stephen A. Elliott and Louis B. Beryl
This report summarizes the context of natural gas development in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan), assesses the major risk factors and opportunities, and presents a financial model for natural gas development projects.
February 21, 2013
More than One Way to Skin a Policy
News
By Andrew Facini, Communications Assistant
Washington Post national environment reporter Juliet Eilperin spoke on the political difficulties of pursuing environmental policy in a seminar titled "Covering Environmental Controversies in a Political Environment" at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Wikipedia Commons
February 14, 2013
"'Energy Independence' Alone Won't Boost U.S. Power"
Op-Ed, Bloomberg View
By Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
“We are finally poised to control our own energy future,” said President Barack Obama in his State of the Union message, noting the drastic increase in American energy production from unconventional oil and gas resources.
Controlling our energy future means more than just producing a greater amount of our own energy. It also means harnessing this energy renaissance to meet our global geopolitical needs. We’ve begun to reap the many economic benefits this boom brings—such as easing the trade deficit and lowering carbon emissions. But we have only started to appreciate how this energy renaissance affects our larger strategic environment. And, not surprisingly, many readers of the tea leaves have confused reality with desire, by hoping more energy at home will mean keeping out of the volatile politics and economics of the Middle East.
January 10, 2013
"Shell's Arctic Troubles Only Buy Time"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"...[T]o believe that the market will maintain its current risk assessment forever is to believe in the power of magical thinking. The economic and political stakes are overwhelmingly in favor of drilling. The White House is pushing for domestic sources of energy. Alaska's elected and tribal leadership will gain much from taxes on new economic activity. And our foreign competitors near the Arctic circle — including Russia, which sent an oil tanker through the Arctic during in December — are ready to plunge into the cold."
Winter 2012-13
Belfer Center Newsletter Winter 2012-2013
Newsletter
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications
The Winter 2012-13 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This edition highlights the Belfer Center’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In addition to the background on those 13 days in 1962 when the world was on the brink of nuclear war, the Center focuses on the decision-making that averted a nuclear catastrophe and the lessons from that event for leaders of today. We include winners and winning entries from our “Best Cuban Missile Crisis Lessons” contest, co-sponsored with Foreign Policy magazine.
Winter 2012-2013
"On Tap at Belfer Center: Oil and Water"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
Leonardo Maugeri writes that oil production capacity is surging in the United States and several other countries at such a fast pace that global oil output capacity is likely to grow by nearly 20 percent by 2020—possibly prompting a plunge or even a collapse in oil prices.
