The impact of the changing global strategic landscape on energy markets is being felt across the world, and is the subject of ongoing debate within industry and government alike. These changes not only affect the evolution of oil markets and their influence on production rates and pricing, but also a host of other factors, including energy security, the effects of global economic crises, and the growing market presence of Arabian Gulf producers, both as a result of their conventional reserves and their development of alternative and renewable sources.

The ECSSR 17th Annual Energy Conference, Global Energy Markets: Changes in the Strategic Landscape, held at the Center on November 1–2, 2011, brought together a group of distinguished experts drawn from industry, academia and government to discuss global energy market trends and recent developments affecting the industry worldwide. The resultant papers contained in this volume provide a professional, academic investigation of these trends and their consequences for both producers and consumers in the Middle East and elsewhere.

The effects of geostrategic developments on energy markets and the formulation of energy policies in the GCC states and abroad are explored in detail, as are the economic viability and outlook of renewable energy sources, both in light of CO2 emission constraints and the involvement of Gulf hydrocarbon producers in the development of renewables technologies.