Oil Security and Friendly Suppliers: Where Are We Now? May 14, 2009

featuring

Jose Orlando Melo de Azevedo, President, Petrobras America, Inc. (invited)
Joseph Dukert, Independent Energy Consultant (confirmed)
Duncan Wood, Director, Canadian Studies Program and Undergraduate International Relations Program, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (confirmed)

May 14, 2009
Woodrow Wilson Center
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

On April 8, 2008, the Mexican government announced that oil production in the country peaked in 2003 at 3,000,455 barrels per day (B/D) and had fallen below 3 million B/D by the end of 2007. Some energy experts in Mexico have cautioned that without additional investments, Mexico will cease to be a significant exporter of oil to North America. At the same time, recent oil discoveries in Brazil and the increasing use of sugarcane ethanol as a source of domestic fuel could position the country as one of the world’s top-ten oil exporters.

Given Mexico’s status as the United States’ third-largest source of imported oil and the highly integrated nature of the North American economy, the decline of Mexican oil production has major economic and energy implications for NAFTA members. This situation may also place mounting pressure on Canada to provide a larger percentage of the continent’s energy supply and force the United States to seek a greater percentage of its oil from sources in the Americas.

Please join the Canada Institute, the Brazil Institute, and the Mexico Institute for a timely program that will examine the implications of shifting oil supplies on North American energy security. The conference will pay particular attention to the decline of Mexico’s oil production and its potential repercussions for the United States and Canada, as well as the prospect of Brazil emerging as a major supplier of oil to North America in the near future.

Seating is limited. RSVP to Canada@wilsoncenter.org.

Official Website: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1420&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=517830