The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-NM) will hear from experts on the U.S. and global energy outlook for 2012.
Lawmakers will hear from Howard Gruenspecht of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) , which last week released its preliminary 2012 forecast. The report estimated strong crude oil and natural gas production in the United States through 2035 and a surge in unconventional oil and gas finds, such as "tight" oil found in shale plays such as the Eagle Ford and the Bakken shales. Domestic production will reduce oil imports from 49 percent to 36 percent by 2035, according to the EIA.
Lawmakers will also hear from Richard Jones of the International Energy Agency(IEA), who will discuss geopolitical events as they may pertain to supply. The IEA is coming from last week's symposium with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, where they discussed short-, medium- and long-term projections of crude oil supply at a time when U.S. sanctions on Iran are taking effect.
The PFC Energy's Roger Diwan and the Cambridge Energy Research Associates' Jim Burkhard will also speak as witnesses to the committee's first hearing of 2012.