Institute for Energy Systems, Economics, and Sustainability

IESES HOSTS SYMPOSIUM ON OFFSHORE ENERGY

Click here to watch the Symposium online:

The Florida Symposium on Offshore Energy-
Part I: Oil and Gas

The energy needs of the United States and the financial condition of the state of Florida have prompted a renewed consideration of oil and gas activity off the Florida coast. As the Legislature deliberates this issue, The Florida State University will bring together experts from around the nation to share their informed views on coastal drilling at the Florida Symposium on Offshore Energy, Part I: Oil and Gas.

(A follow-up event, the Florida Symposium on Offshore Energy, Part II: Sustainable and Alternative Energy, is currently being planned for the spring of 2010.)

Although offshore energy production has a long history in the coastal United States, Florida is a unique case because of its geology and environment. This event will provide informed commentary and moderated discussion of issues at the forefront of prospects for oil and gas production in Florida waters. Expert panels will consider aspects of three interwoven topic areas:

Energy Resources and Development: What is the expected magnitude of hydrocarbon reserves located off Florida’s coast, and what are the realistic timelines for production?
Economics and Revenue: What is the experience of other coastal states with respect to effective regulation and revenue from energy resources in state and federal waters?
Environment and Technology: How does the marine environment of the Florida coast differ from other coastal regions and how could 21st century technology minimize impacts?

“The purpose of this event is to bring together groups of recognized experts who will articulate scholarship-derived issues that should be addressed in any near-shore drilling strategy the state proposes,” said David Cartes, the director of Florida State’s Institute for Energy Systems, Economics and Sustainability <http://ieses.fsu.edu/>, which organized and is a co-sponsor of the symposium. “Our role will be to serve as an ‘honest broker,’ providing insight and information while bringing a greater understanding of the issues to the debate.”

In addition to the Institute for Energy Systems, Economics and Sustainability, other sponsors of the Florida Symposium on Offshore Energy from Florida State are the Office of Research;the Tallahassee Democrat, the Environmental and Land Use Law Program at the College of Law; and the departments of Oceanography and Economics.

For More Information Contact:

Melanie Simmons
(850) 645-9165; msimmons@fsu.edu

Tallahassee Democrat FSU acts as 'broker' for drilling symposium FSU drilling symposium experts say risk is low FSU drilling symposium experts

	Keynote Speaker
	Joseph Christopher is the Regional Supervisor for the Office of Leasing and Environment in the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region of the Minerals Management Service (MMS), in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. Christopher is responsible for the Gulf Region’s leasing and adjudication activities, environmental studies program, pre- and post-lease environmental assessment processes, and the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP.) He has over 30 years of experience with the MMS and various aspects of the Region’s Outer Continental Shelf Program. Mr. Christopher started with MMS in 1978 when the agency was known as the United States Geological Survey (USGS). He has held various positions in his career at MMS including Chief of Environmental Assessment. Mr. Christopher received a BA in Geography from the University of New Orleans in 1978 and an MA in Management and Supervision from Central Michigan University in 1986.
Technical and Environmental Challenges	This panel will consider the potential impacts of oil and gas activity in the marine environment: mitigation of potential impacts with modern technology, the baseline knowledge needed for science-based management and monitoring of energy production, and special needs of the Florida coastal region.
	Ian MacDonald, Ph.D. is the Chair of the Symposium and Technical and Environmental Panel. He is a professor in the Department of Oceanography at Florida State University. His research combines observations from submersibles with satellite imaging to understand the role of natural hydrocarbon releases in the carbon cycle. Much of this work has been focused in the Gulf of Mexico and has been applied in scientific management of offshore energy industry.
	Norman L. Guinasso, Jr., Ph.D is the Director for Ocean Sciences with the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group, an adjunct Professor in the Department of Oceanography at Texas A&M University. Since 2008, he has worked on the development of small responder buoy that could be quickly deployed near an oil spill to collect real-time data to aid oil recovery operations. He has also worked on a project to operate an underwater flow cytometer on a buoy to monitor Karenia brevis in the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Guinasso is a Co-Principal Investigator on the NOAA program Mechanisms Controlling Hypoxia on the Louisiana Shelf. The program examines hypoxia along the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. Dr. Guinasso has served as Program Manager at Texas A&M for the Texas Automated Buoy System.
	Martin Hovland, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Professor for the Centre of Geobiology at the University of Bergen as well as a marine geological specialist and project manager for StatoilHydro. He is a lecturer at the University of Tromsø, teaching geohazards. Dr. Hovland served in the Norwegian Air Force as a meteorologist and taught mathematics and geography in Zambia, Africa. He was an Invited Scientist on Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 46, a member of ODP Pollution Prevention and Safety Panel, is currently a member of the Environmental Protection and Safety Panel for Texas A&M University, and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. Since 1980, Dr. Hovland has published over one hundred peer reviewed articles and four books. His research includes deep-water coral reefs, drilling of marine gas hydrates, the effect of gas through the seafloor and mapping shallow gas through the seafloor.
	Kenneth J. Schaudt is an Oceanographer and Certified Consulting Meteorologist. After receiving his degrees from the University of Michigan's College of Engineering, Mr. Schaudt worked in offshore engineering and research providing oceanographic, meteorological and hydrodynamic support for worldwide engineering design; onshore and offshore operations (including drilling, pipelines and platform construction and installation); environmental assessment and permitting; and applied research. After 20 years as the lead oceanographer / meteorologist at Marathon Oil, where he worked on projects from the polar regions to the tropics, he reentered consulting in 2003 and now provides a broad range of oceanographic, meteorological and hydrodynamic support worldwide.
Economic Challenges	The experts on Economic Challenges will speak to several important issues regarding offshore oil leasing and the potential revenue for the state of Florida including: How are offshore oil auctions designed and how do they generate revenue? How do changes in such things as energy markets, oil industry structure or auction design influence potential revenue streams? What is the outlook for international oil and gas markets? How do federal regulations affect offshore oil and gas leasing, exploration, and production? What are some of the labor market implications of having an ongoing offshore oil industry?
	R. Mark Isaac, Ph.D. is Chair of the Economic Panel. He is the John & Hallie Quinn Eminent Scholar in the Department of Economics at Florida State University. Dr. Isaac uses experimental economics to address basic microeconomic problems. His work has provided new empirical insights for many traditional economic problems, particularly experimental conditions for trading, cooperation, pricing and trade and address auctions and public goods. Dr. Isaac was an energy economist early in this career and published articles on petroleum prices and bidding institutions for leasing and auctions of offshore oil leases. He is a member of the Editorial Board for Experimental Economics and is the editor of Research in Experimental Economics.
	Kenneth Hendricks, Ph.D. is one of the country's leading experts on auctions and auction revenues, particularly with regards to offshore oil leasing. Many of his more than two dozen professional publications are related to this topic. He is the principal author of "Bidding Rings and the Winner's Curse: The Case of Offshore Federal Oil and Gas Lease Auctions," forthcoming in The RAND Journal. Dr. Hendricks is currently the James L. and Nancy Powell Centennial Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Hendricks is a fellow of the Econometric Society, and is an Associate Editor of the American Economic Journal (Microeconomics).
	Mark J. Kaiser, Ph.D. is a Professor and Director of the Research & Development Division at the Center for Energy Studies, Louisiana State University. His focus is on policy issues, modeling, and econometric studies in the energy industry. Dr. Kaiser's research centers on establishing the economic and environmental impact of a proposed Public Benefit Fund for the state of Louisiana and studies related to hydrocarbon infrastructure requirements in the Gulf of Mexico. He is widely published with work appearing across a broad spectrum of energy, engineering, mathematics and scientific journals. He is a member of the United States Association for Energy Economics, International Association for Energy Economics, The Institute of Management Science and Operations Research, and the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Law and Policy Challenges	This panel will consider the law and policy framework for oil and gas activity in Florida's Gulf of Mexico waters. In addition to looking at experiences of other Gulf States developing resources within their waters, special consideration will be given to the relationship of opening state waters to federal oil and gas development in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and how federal policy may affect Florida's decision-making.
	Donna R. Christie, J.D. is the Elizabeth C. and Clyde W. Atkinson Professor of Law and the Associate Dean for International Programs at The Florida State University College of Law. Professor Christie is internationally known for her work in ocean and coastal management law. She is a co-author of the leading casebook in the field, Coastal and Ocean Law, as well as the author of numerous articles and reports exploring ocean policy, fisheries management and coastal resources management. Professor Christie has been involved in ocean policy development at the state level for Florida, authoring the policy background studies for the ocean initiatives under the administrations of Governor Martinez and Governor Chiles and serving on the Governors Ocean Committee in 1997-98. She is an author of the Review of U.S. Ocean and Coastal Law (appendix 6), prepared for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and she has worked internationally with the United Nations Development Program, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the Caribbean Law Institute on coastal and ocean policy issues in the Caribbean and Central America. Professor Christie has served as Chair of the Association of American Law Schools section on Natural Resources Law and of the section on Ocean and Maritime Law and she has been an elected member of the American Law Institute since 1995.
	Owen Anderson, J.D. holds the Eugene Kuntz Chair in Oil, Gas & Natural Resources at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He has lectured throughout the United States, as well as Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom, and China, on domestic and international oil and gas law. He is a Distinguished Lecturer for the Centre for Energy, Petroleum & Mineral Law & Policy at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Professor Anderson is co-author of International Petroleum Transactions; co-author of Hemingway Oil and Gas Law and Taxation; co-editor of Cases and Materials on Oil & Gas Law; co-author of annual supplements to Kuntz on Oil and Gas Law; and a contributing author to Waters and Water Rights. He serves on the Board of Editors for the Oil and Gas Reporter and as a Commissioner for the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He is a trustee of both the Eastern and Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundations; a member of the International Oil and Gas Educational Center Advisory Board of the Center for American and International Law in Dallas, Texas; and a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.
	Paul L. Kelly, J.D.is a consultant on energy and ocean policy and retired Senior Vice President of Rowan Companies, Inc., where he was responsible for special projects and government and industry affairs. Mr. Kelly was a member of the U.S. Secretary of Interior's Outer Continental Shelf Policy Committee during the past four administrations, serving as chairman of the Committee from 1994 to 1996. He also served on the Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel which provided independent advice and guidance under the Bush Administration's Ocean Action Plan. In 2007, he was appointed to a two-year term on the United States National Committee of the Census of Marine Life. He has written widely on the subject of energy policy and is Senior Editorial Advisor of World Oil. In 1991 he was appointed by President Bush to serve on the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. Mr. Kelly is on the Board of Directors of the National Ocean Industries Association, a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Oceans Law and Policy at the University of Virginia School of Law, a member of the Oceanography Development Council at Texas A&M University and serves on the Texas Sea Grant Advisory Committee. He is also president of the Gulf of Mexico Foundation which brings the private sector and the conservation community together to work on environmental sustainability issues.