The Center for Global Business Studies at Penn State University put together this conference because of the imminent shifting energy landscape that will undoubtedly affect the global world. While many used to fear the United States’ continued dependency on foreign energy sources, an extraordinary surge in unconventional oil and gas development has led to the United States approaching energy self sufficiency. Just in the last five years, domestic production has grown by more than 50 percent. In fact, this past October, the U.S. produced more crude oil than it imported for the first time since early 1995. This trend is expected to increase, and it’s foreseeable that the U.S. will even begin to export gas soon. Additionally, it’s projected that North America will become self sufficient in oil production, as well, largely thanks to deposits in Canada.
While these changes will certainly impact the U.S. in terms of its regional, manufacturing and economic development, they will also have ramifications on the country’s foreign policy. During this conference, we will address these potential consequences, with particular regard to Europe, China, Russia and the Middle East. Of course, the impact of this shifting landscape will inherently be dependent upon how quickly the U.S. can bring its shale oil and gas into production. The U.S. has been successful thus far, but is its production sustainable? Moreover, what are the possible environmental effects of this production? Through the second half of this conference, we will address these imperative questions. We are delighted to have the following presenters to offer their insight:
• Jim Boland, Advisor to the Governor of Ohio and Former Vice Chairman of Ernst &
Young
• Kevin Book, Managing Director of Research at ClearView Energy Partners LLC
• Sarah Ladislaw, Co-Director and Senior Fellow, Energy and National Security Program at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Andrew Place, President and Interim Director at the Center for Sustainable Shale
Development
• Mike Ratner, Specialist in Energy Policy, focus on natural gas and oil markets at the
Congressional Research Service
• Frank A. Verrastro, Senior Vice President and James R. Schlesinger Chair for Energy
and Geopolitics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Charles H. Whiteman, Dean of the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University
Download the Presentation (PDF, 65MB)