We are pleased to share with you a unique and special COBT episode. Late last week, The KBH Energy Center in partnership with Vinson & Elkins and Veriten, hosted a discussion in Houston featuring Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Secretary Dan Brouillette. Senator Hutchison is a Founding Member of The KBH Energy Center and most recently served as the US Ambassador to NATO following a distinguished career spanning both the public and private sectors. Secretary Brouillette is an Executive Council Member for The KBH Energy Center, the President and CEO of Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and former president of Sempra Infrastructure. He is a respected leader in the energy, finance and automotive sectors and also served as the Secretary of Energy. The combined extensive experience of Senator Hutchison and Secretary Brouillette in geopolitics and energy laid the groundwork for a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion. We were thrilled to moderate this unique COBT discussion in front of a live audience at Vinson & Elkins’s offices.

Senator Hutchison first shares the unique features of the KBH Energy Center including its focus on traditional oil and gas as well as emerging technologies and its multidisciplinary nature with involvement from the business, law and engineering departments at the University of Texas. We discuss the paramount importance of energy security for America, the state of energy policy, geopolitical considerations with Ukraine and Israel, and the importance of American leadership, especially in organizations like NATO. As you’ll hear, Senator Hutchison recently wrote an article for the Atlantic Council that focused on the immediate need for stronger and more deliberate American leadership (linked here).

Secretary Brouillette touches on the complexities of the energy transition, advancements in drilling technology and battery storage, the role of natural gas, power demand considerations, and economic challenges the US faces, including its stunning national debt. In our conversation, we also touch on future plans for The KBH Energy Center, the importance of involving young people in discussions about energy and the exciting opportunities they’ll have to shape the industry.

In this unique COBT, the fundamental importance of energy to everything we care about as a society was a driving theme. Senator Hutchison and Secretary Brouillette have both made significant contributions to energy policy and the industry and it was both an honor and super thought-provoking to get their perspectives on today’s world. There are some serious issues for us all to be considering.

We want to thank our friends at the KBH Energy Center and V&E for including us in the discussion and hope you find it as interesting as we did!

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