Cambridge Energy Research Associates, also known as
CERA, is a consulting company that specializes in advising governments and private companies on
energyIn physics, energy is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of work that can be performed by a force, an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law...
markets, geopolitics, industry trends, and strategy. The company was founded in 1983 by
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
winning
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
Daniel YerginDaniel H. Yergin is an American author, speaker, and economic researcher. Yergin is the co-founder and chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, an energy research consultancy...
and James Rosenfield. Comprising experts from many fields within the energy industry, CERA was acquired by
IHSIHS can refer to:* A common Christogram based on the first three letters of "Jesus" in Greek ; featured in the seal of the Society of Jesus * IBM HTTP Server...
Energy in 2004.
Some of the company's largest clients include international energy companies, energy consumers, governments, utilities, technology companies, and financial institutions.
Cambridge Energy Research Associates, also known as
CERA, is a consulting company that specializes in advising governments and private companies on
energyIn physics, energy is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of work that can be performed by a force, an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law...
markets, geopolitics, industry trends, and strategy. The company was founded in 1983 by
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
winning
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
Daniel YerginDaniel H. Yergin is an American author, speaker, and economic researcher. Yergin is the co-founder and chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, an energy research consultancy...
and James Rosenfield. Comprising experts from many fields within the energy industry, CERA was acquired by
IHSIHS can refer to:* A common Christogram based on the first three letters of "Jesus" in Greek ; featured in the seal of the Society of Jesus * IBM HTTP Server...
Energy in 2004.
CERAWeek
Some of the company's largest clients include international energy companies, energy consumers, governments, utilities, technology companies, and financial institutions. Many of them attend
CERAWeek, the company's annual conference held in
HoustonHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of...
,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
. Daily programs usually revolve around the topics of oil, natural gas, electric power, renewables, and technology.
Past keynote speeches have been given by the energy secretaries and ministers of
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south...
,
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
,
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
, and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Other notable speakers have included former US Secretary of the Treasury
Robert RubinRobert Edward Rubin served as the 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury during both the first and second Clinton administrations. Before his government service, he spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs...
, US Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, former
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
Senator
Gary HartGary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He formerly served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...
; former US Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans; , former Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan GreenspanAlan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...
,
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices...
CEO Steve Balmer, and former Secretary General of
OPECThe Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...
Rilwanu LukmanRilwanu Lukman was the OPEC Secretary General from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2000. On December 18, Lukman was appointed as the current Minister of Petroleum Resources by Nigerian president Umaru Yar'Adua. He hails from Zaria in Kaduna State of Nigeria....
.
Oil Price Predictions
Many of the predictions of future oil prices made by CERA have proved to have been
inaccurate. Nevertheless, CERA and Daniel Yergin are frequently cited in oil-price
related news.
| Date | Prediction | Actual Data |
|---|
| 2002-02-01 |
$20 |
$26.16 |
| 2003-02-20 |
$20 to $25 |
$31 |
| 2004-02-11 |
$25 to $35 |
$65 |
| 2005-06-11 |
$30 to $40 |
$57 |
| 2007-06-27 |
$60 to $65 |
$100 |
| 2007-09-14 |
under $80 |
above $100 |
Peak Oil
As the controversy over
Peak OilPeak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. The concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, and the combined production rate of a field of related oil wells...
intensified in 2006, CERA found itself on the optimistic side of predictions, forecasting that a peak would not occur before 2020, and this would not be a "peak" but rather an undulating plateau.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2005-10-16-oil-1a-cover-usat_x.htm This opinion has been met with criticism by those who believe a peak has already occurred or is imminent.
http://www.energybulletin.net/30537.htmlhttp://aspocanada.ca/chris-skrebowskis-open-letter-to-cera.htmlhttp://www.aspo-usa.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=76http://www.energybulletin.net/22482.html In June of 2008, CERA called $120-$150 per barrel the "break point" for oil, the point where demand erosion would halt the price rise.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/25/news/economy/jec_oil/index.htm
External links