by Abdallah S. Jum’ah
President and CEO
Saudi Aramco

Energy is an essential driver of the world’s economic health and social well-being. In some shape or form it touches the daily life of every individual on the planet. Today, though, we see considerable uncertainty in the energy and petroleum markets, as well as the global economy.

Over the past year, oil prices have been buffeted by the combination of relatively healthy demand, concerns for supply interruptions, stretched refining capacity, world and regional events, and a continued debate about the role of financial speculation in oil price volatility. More recently the effects of the subprime debt problem have rippled through global markets, risking global economic growth and creating uncertainty for the oil market in general and oil demand in particular. If these uncertainties were not enough, volatility among key world currencies has confused the situation further.

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