All Climate Events

Thursday, November 30, 2017 12:45PM. Webinar: New Realities for US Energy Security. Howard Gruenspecht, MIT Energy Initiative; Richard G. Newell, Resources for the Future; Stephen P.A. Brown, University of Nevada-Las Vegas; Alan J. Krupnick, Resources for the Future. Sponsored by Resources for the Future. More information here.

Since the 1973 oil crisis, both the US federal government and the public have been focused on improving the security of the nation’s oil supply. The fracking revolution has reduced our country’s vulnerability to shocks with political origins—but the recent gasoline shortages in Houston and Florida as well as the shutdown of parts of the US oil supply chain remind us of the susceptibility of the US energy sector to weather-related shocks.

This RFF seminar will open with a presentation from former Department of Energy official Howard Gruenspecht on the economic and political factors that have led to a very different oil security picture than the country faced decades ago. RFF President Richard Newell will present new research on how the shale oil boom has altered the flexibility of the US supply, as well as how price and inventory dynamics can inform Strategic Petroleum Reserve policy. RFF University Fellow Stephen Brown will then discuss an RFF project that produced new estimates for the value of the oil security premium—a key metric used in benefit–cost analyses of related regulations. RFF Senior Fellow Alan Krupnick will wrap up with a discussion of the new energy security paradigm, which broadens the definition of US energy security beyond oil to include natural gas, electricity, and other energy systems.