A Critique of IEA’s Oil Forecasts
This briefing highlights the flawed– and sometimes dangerously wrong– assumptions in the IEA’s 2024 World Energy Outlook (WEO), rebutting its widely reported forecast that world oil demand will peak in 2032.
Program Agenda
January 29, 2025, 10:30am – 12:30pm ET
Washington, D.C.
10:30 am – Welcome
Mark P. Mills, Founder & Executive Director of NCEA
10:35 am – Fireside Chat
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) with Mark P. Mills
10:55 am – Report Overview
Neil Atkinson, Former Head of the Oil Industry & Markets for IEA, NCEA Special Advisor with Mark P. Mills
11:10 am – Q&A
11:25 am –Refreshment Break & Press Interviews
11:40 am – Fireside Chat
Alan Armstrong, CEO of Williams, and Chair, National Petroleum Council with Scott W. Tinker, PhD, Director Emeritus of the Bureau of Economic Geology, NCEA Advisor
12:00 pm – Q&A
12:10 pm – Fireside Chat
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) with Scott W. Tinker, PhD
12:30 pm – Concludes
Speakers
John Barrasso
Senator (R-WY)
Senator John Barrasso was sworn in to the United States Senate in 2007 having represented the people of Natrona County in the Wyoming State Senate from 2003-2007. In November 2018, Barrasso was reelected to the U.S. Senate with more than 67% of the vote. He is the third-ranking member in the Senate Republican leadership as Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. He serves on committees that directly impact Wyoming’s economy, energy interests, public lands, national parks and trade. In addition to other committee assignments, Barrasso is the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Senator Barrasso is known by many as Wyoming’s Doctor. During his 24 years as an orthopedic surgeon, Barrasso served as President of the Wyoming Medical Society and was named Wyoming Physician of the Year. Senator Barrasso lives in Casper. He and his late wife, Bobbi, have three children – Peter, Emma and Hadley.
John Hickenlooper
Senator (D-CO)
John Hickenlooper took an unconventional path to public office. Aer starting out as a geologist, John took a chance by opening the first brewpub in Colorado. As a small business owner, he gained a deep understanding of the local community and the value of collaboration. John entered public service because he knew he could listen to the diverse array of Colorado voices and get things done. As Colorados U.S. Senator, John is committed to bringing people together to solve our country’s toughest problems.
Alan Armstrong
CEO of Williams
Alan Armstrong became President and Chief Executive Officer of Williams in January 2011. During his tenure, Williams has expanded its reach, currently handling one-third of all U.S. natural gas volumes, through gathering, processing, transportation and storage
services. Prior to being named CEO, Armstrong led the company’s North American midstream and olefins businesses through a period of growth and expansion as Senior Vice President – Midstream. Previously, Mr. Armstrong served as Vice President of Gathering and Processing from 1999 to 2002; Vice President of Commercial Development from 1998 to 1999; Vice President of Retail Energy Services from 1997 to 1998 and Director of Commercial Operations for the company’s midstream business in the Gulf Coast region from 1995 to 1997. He joined Williams in 1986 as an engineer.
Mark P. Mills
Founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Energy Analytics
Mark P. Mills is founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Energy Analytics, a distinguished senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a contributing editor at City Journal, a faculty fellow at Northwestern University’s school of engineering, and co-founding partner in Montrose Lane. His online PragerU videos have been viewed over 10 million times. He is author of The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and a Roaring 2020s, (2021). Previous books include Digital Cathedrals: The Information Infrastructure Era, (2020), Work InThe Age Of Robots (2018), and The Bottomless Well, (2005), about which Bill Gates said, “This is the only book I’ve ever seen that really explains energy.” He served as Chairman/CTO of ICx Technologies helping take it public in a 2007 IPO. Mark served in President Reagan’s White House Science Office and, earlier, was an experimental physicist and development engineer in microprocessors and fiber optics, earning several patents. He earned his physics degree from Queen’s University, Canada.
Neil Atkinson
Independent Energy Analyst & Former Senior Official at IEA
Neil Atkinson boasts a rich career spanning over four decades in the energy sector. Starting in big oil at Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., he moved into roles in media, consulting, and think tanks. These included stints at Platt’s, the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Energy Intelligence Group, KBC Advanced Technology, Datamonitor Energy, and Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Atkinson moved to Paris in 2016 to become head of the Oil Markets Division at the International Energy Agency. From 1992 to 2002, he was Hon. Sec. of the British Institute of Energy Economics. He has testified on energy issues to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committees and has addressed NATO on energy security issues. Atkinson is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Fuellers in London.
Scott W. Tinker, PhD
Director Emeritus, Bureau of Economic Geology, UT Austin
Scott W. Tinker brings industry, government, academia, and nongovernmental organizations together to address major societal challenges in energy, the environment, and the economy. Dr. Tinker is Director Emeritus of the Bureau of Economic Geology, and a professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. With Director Harry Lynch, Tinker co-produced the award-winning documentary films Switch and Switch On. Dr. Tinker founded the nonprofit Switch Energy Alliance. He is the host of PBS Energy Switch and Earth Date. Dr. Tinker presented a TEDx talk on The Dual Challenge: Energy and Environment. He serves on public company boards and science councils, Trinity University’s Board of Trustees, and is an angel investor who has helped bring companies from startup to acquisition. His writing has appeared from Forbes to Fortune to Scientific American. Dr. Tinker has served as president of several international professional associations and is an AGI Campbell Medalist, AAPG Halbouty Medalist, GCAGS Boyd Medalist, AIPG Parker Medalist, and a Geological Society of America Fellow.