Pultizer Prize Winning Author Dr. Daniel Yergin to Moderate at the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum

posted on: Apr 30, 2008

Pulitzer Prize winning author and Chairman of the Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), Dr. Daniel Yergin will moderate a panel at the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum.

“Dr. Yergin, a Global Energy Analyst for NBC, a member of the board of the United States Energy Association, and recipient of the United States Energy Award for “lifelong achievements in energy and the promotion of international understanding” will oversee the panel discussion entitled The U.S.-Arab Energy Relationship and Wealth Reallocation: Bilateral Opportunities, Global Responsibilities and the New Liquidity in the Middle East.

“We are grateful to host such a distinguished guest,” said Mr. Ahmad Chebbani, Chairman and CEO of the USAEF. “Dr. Yergin is an authority in energy policy, and given the current dynamic relationship between the U.S. and certain energy-rich Arab nations, his perspective is highly valued to us, as well as many energy-intensive and oil-dependent economies.”

“The panel, which will host leaders from the energy and petroleum arena, will address issues related to the growing energy requirements among expanding economies. It also hopes to address the implications of the U.S.-Arab energy relationship, a theme which has dominated much of the media, given the recent increasing cost of fuel and energy related commodities.

Panelists will discuss a myriad of topics focusing on the distribution of oil-wealth, development of petroleum-based industries, meeting the escalating US demand for oil and gas, and the risk and repercussions of oil-rich Arab nations meeting America’s and international community’s energy demand.

“With much of the industrialized world noticing the importance of globalizing impulses related to oil and the rising price of energy, we must ensure that coexistence of interdependent economies is viable, and exists, both in the U.S. and in the Arab world,” said Mr. Nasser Beydoun, COO and Vice-Chairman of the USAEF. “We are keen to hear the perspectives of Dr. Yergin, whose voice in the energy arena provides a progressive answer to addressing a possible global energy ‘crisis’.”

Given the increasing demand for oil from the U.S. as well as many emerging market countries, the rising price of fuel and basic energy-related commodities has the potential to cripple economic markets.

In 2006, President George W. Bush, during his State of the Union address, said “[W]e have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.”
“We at the USAEF, hope this panel will mitigate some of the concerns associated to the rising price of fuel, and possibly build on the U.S.-Arab energy relationship, rather than seeing it as a hampering conundrum, in today’s global energy market domain,” stated Mr. Chebbani.