Under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and President of the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), the ECSSR held its Seventeenth Annual Energy Conference, “Global Energy Markets: Changes in the Strategic Landscape,” on November 1–2, 2011, at the Center’s office complex in Abu Dhabi. Participants at the Conference included decision makers, academics, researchers and distinguished local and international energy experts.

The Conference addressed prevailing trends in global energy markets, as well as the challenges and future prospects for different segments of the current energy system, including oil and gas, renewable and nuclear energy sectors.

The event offered two days of high-level presentations and in-depth discussions designed to provide valuable insight into the most critical energy issues affecting security, the economy, and the environment. On the first day, the Conference identified the key challenges and potential trends for global energy markets, as well as their policy implications. It also examined potential market effects which may influence world energy pricing and trade, the global oil and gas market, the economic viability of renewable energy, and the economics of nuclear power.

On the second day, the Conference focused on energy market analysis and energy security. It tackled major issues for global energy markets raised by recent developments such as the global economic downturn, the ongoing changes in the Middle East, the growing fears over climate change, and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The Conference concluded by focusing on the GCC countries and their energy policies, as well as their role and market power in the global energy system, providing geo-strategic solutions to oil vulnerability in the Arab Gulf.