David Blackmon is Principal at DB Energy Advisors and writes on energy issues at Forbes.com and various other publications.   David has enjoyed a 42-year career in and around the oil and gas industry, the last 25 years of which have been spend in the communications and public policy arena.  David also maintains a practice as a consultant on public policy issues for several clients.   

During his career, David led numerous industry-wide efforts to address a variety of issues at the local, state and federal level.  He served as the Vice-Chairman of IPAA’s public lands committee from 1995 through 2003, as Vice-Chairman and later Chairman of the Interior Department’s Royalty Policy Committee from 1996 through 2000, Chairman of the AXPC Government Affairs Committee from 2013 through 2014, and from April 2010 through June 2012, he served as the Texas State Chairman for America’s Natural Gas Alliance.

In addition to his consulting and role at Forbes.com, David hosts 3 podcasts, maintains his energy-related newsletter at Substack (Blackmon.Substack.com), has a robust social media presence and executes frequent public speaking engagements.

Social Media Links

Twitter: @EnergyAbsurdity

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-blackmon-2325189/

Website

Blackmon.Substack.com

Jim Krane, Ph.D., is the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston. He specializes in energy geopolitics, with a focus on oil-exporting countries and the challenges they face from energy subsidies, internal demand and climate change. He teaches classes on energy policy and geopolitics at Rice University.

Krane's scholarly articles have been published in Nature Energy, Energy Policy, Energy Journal, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, MRS Energy and Sustainability, the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists as well as numerous edited volumes. 

He is the author of two books. His acclaimed 2009 volume “City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism” is widely recognized as the seminal work on the iconoclastic city-state, while his award-winning 2019 book “Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf” is the definitive study of energy demand in the Gulf region.

Krane spent nearly 20 years as a journalist, six of them in the Middle East. He was a longtime correspondent for the Associated Press based in Dubai, Baghdad and New York, and has written for myriad other publications including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and the Economist Intelligence Unit. He is the winner of several journalism awards including the 2003 AP Managing Editors Deadline Reporting Award, received for his coverage of Saddam Hussein’s capture in Iraq. Krane received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, master’s from Columbia University and bachelor’s from City College of New York.

Contact him at jkrane@rice.edu or (713) 348-3567.

Chris Hosek is a principal of Texas Star Alliance, specializing in direct lobbying and state agency relations. Chris has experience with a broad range of legislative issues and policy initiatives including a specific expertise in the energy sector. Chris served as the chief of staff for 5 years to the Chair of the Railroad Commission of Texas. The Railroad Commission is the regulatory body that oversees Texas’ energy industries including all levels of the oil and gas industry, pipeline safety, gas utility rates and the permitting and reclamation of coal and uranium mines.

Prior to his work at the Railroad Commission, Chris served as the legislative director in the Texas House of Representatives for the 78th and 77th sessions. Chris served as the committee aide to the Appropriations Committee, responsible for drafting the state’s two-year budget. He also served as a committee aide for a member on the House Energy Resources Committee, where he received his background in the energy field. Chris served in various roles for elected officials where he managed and developed legislative issues. Other committees experience includes the Urban Affairs Committee and State Recreational Resource Committee.

Chris has met with numerous international trade delegations at the Railroad Commission. He also participated in several trade missions to Mexico, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Singapore, and Myanmar. In 2008, Chris was selected by the American Council of Young Political Leaders as a delegate to participate in an overseas governmental exchange with Taiwan. In 2015, Chris was asked to lead the same organization to Indonesia, Malaysia and Qatar.

In 2019, Chris was also named D CEO Magazine’s “Innovator of the Year”. In 2018, Chris won Texas Oil and Gas Award for Service Excellence, the first energy lobbyist to win the award. In 2015, 2017, and 2019, Chris was ranked in the top “Power Ranking” by Capitol Inside, a Texas political publication. In 2013, he was recognized as a “Rising Star” on its 10th annual Texas Lobby Power Rankings.  Also, in 2013, the Austin Business Journal named him “Who’s Who in Energy”.

In addition to serving the legislative needs of his clients, Chris’ involvement with the community is robust. Chris was appointed to serve on the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multi-state government entity that is viewed as the authority on domestic oil and gas issues. Chris has also served as an Urban Transportation Commissioner for the City of Austin. In addition, he sits on the board of Ballet Austin and is a Board Member for the Lone Star Success Academy, which improves the lives of troubled, at-risk, and vulnerable Texas youth by offering an alternative education.  He serves as a Trustee for the American Council for Young Political Leaders, a Washington D.C.-based organization that implements unique international exchange activities for political leaders worldwide. He is active in the Texas State Alumni Association and the Phi Delta Theta Alumni Association. Chris and his wife, Chandra, live in Austin, Texas.