Radical Noesis - Thinking outside the box

A debate from the Middle East that examines major policy issues facing energy consumption and the challenges confronting the world in developing sustainable alternatives.

The World Debate: Oman
Transmitted on Saturday 11th February

In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush acknowledged that the US is addicted to oil and needs to wean itself off. There's been a sea change in the structure of the energy market; a shortage of refining capacity; demand greater than supply; political instability in the Middle East and in other oil producing regions; and new players on the scene. Russia has held Europe to ransom over its gas supplies; Iranian oil is at risk because of the political confrontation with the West over its nuclear programme, and there’s a race to exploit new sources of hydrocarbons between Western and Chinese companies.

The World Debate asks what the implications of these changes are for the Middle East and for the rest of the globe. Have companies and governments done enough to prepare for this changing world? At what point do oil and the Middle East become the past and another source of energy? And will another region emerge as the future?

GUEST BIOGRAPHIES

Wim Thomas - Head of Energy Team, Shell International
Wim Thomas leads the Energy Team in the Shell Global Scenario Group. His team is responsible for worldwide energy analyses, long-term global energy scenarios, and advises Shell companies on a wide range of energy issues.

Maqbool bin ali Sultan - Minister of Commerce and Industry, Oman
He has held his current position since 1991, and in 1987 was elected President of the Oman Chamber of Commerce.

Walid Khadduri - Energy expert
Formerly Editor of the Middle East Economic Survey, and currently writing for Al Hayat.

Kevin Rosner - Senior Fellow, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, Washington.
The director of the NATO Forum on Energy Security Technology, who is engaged by the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Company to cover infrastructure protection and security issues in the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey (AGT) corridor.

Yang Fuqiang - Head of the Energy Foundation, Beijing
Involved in energy and environmental issues for nearly three decades, and works on public policy development in China aimed at cost-effective carbon emissions reductions through the deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.