“Oil Leaders”. In Conversation with Ibrahim Al-Muhanna

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2022 has catapulted energy policies to the forefront of government agendas in Europe and across the world. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna’s book, “Oil Leaders: An Insider’s Account of Four Decades of Saudi Arabia and OPEC’s Global Energy Policy” (Columbia University Press, 2022), provides a rare view into the strategic decision making that took place among the largest oil producers during the last three decades, shaping the most important energy market events of our times. Joining the Forum in Cambridge, Dr Al-Muhanna and Dr Bassam Fattouh will discuss Dr Al-Muhanna’s distinguished career as well as reflect on today’s policy challenges that will affect energy producers and consumers alike in 2023, including the state of global energy relations, resource diversification, coordination within OPEC, and the future of the industry in the era of energy transition.

Speakers:

Dr Ibrahim Al-Muhanna | Dr Ibrahim Al-Muhanna has a distinguished career in academics and public service and served as an Advisor to the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1989-2017). His expertise includes OPEC affairs, analysis of international oil markets, energy economics, policy making, and public relations. Dr Al-Muhanna was an advisor to three oil ministers and participated in countless international meetings, including OPEC, OAPEC, IEF, G20, the Asian Roundtable, and the World Economic Forum, among many others. Dr Al-Muhanna played an active role in establishing the oil producers-consumers dialogues in 1991 and has played a major role in its evolution for a quarter century.
Dr Al-Muhanna retired from the ministry at the end of February, 2017 and established a new energy consulting firm based in Riyadh. Dr Al-Muhanna also serves as Vice Chair for the Gulf States/Middle East at the World Energy Council.
Previously, Dr Al-Muhanna was a professor at King Saud University. He has also continued to lecture at the American University in Washington, DC, Oxford University, the Council of Foreign Relations, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), the Reform Club of London, among many others.

Dr Bassam Fattouh | Dr Bassam Fattouh is the Director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) and Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). He has published a variety of articles on energy policy, the international oil pricing system, OPEC behavior, the energy transition, and the economies of oil producing countries. Dr Fattouh served as a member of an independent expert group established to provide recommendations to the 12th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial Meeting in Cancun (29-31 March 2010) for strengthening the architecture of the producer-consumer dialogue through the IEF and reducing energy market volatility. He is the recipient of the 2018 OPEC Award for Research. He acts as an advisor to a number of governments and companies. He is a regular speaker at international conferences.
Bassam Fattouh focuses his research on aspects of the international oil pricing system such as the relationship between the futures market and spot market, the relationship between OPEC and the market, the causes of oil price volatility and the dynamics of oil price differentials. He also focuses his research on the IOC-NOC relationship and its implications for investment behaviour. He has a strong background in the economic environment of the Middle East.