Author and Former Shell Oil President John Hofmeister to Keynote Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum December 1

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hofmeister, former president of Shell Oil Company, author, and founder and chief executive officer of Citizens for Affordable Energy, Inc. will be the keynote speaker at the 2010 Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum, "Clean Energy: Fact or Fiction?" on December 1 at The McGraw-Hill Companies headquarters in New York City. The Forum is being held in conjunction with the 12th annual Platts Global Energy Awards.  

"Environmentally-friendly energy production and consumption is not without its economic implications for the average citizen, industry and government and that's why it takes concerted efforts globally to come to a truly sustainable reality," said Larry Neal, president of Platts, a leading global energy and metals information provider and host of the forum.  "We look forward to Mr. Hofmeister's unique insight and the frank discussion that follows by industry, economic and political representatives on how the proposition and implementation of 'clean energy' colors the world's energy outlook."

Hofmeister, author of the 2010 released "Why We Hate the Oil Companies: Straight Talk from an Energy Insider," is a member of the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee. Prior to founding his current non-profit public policy education firm, Hofmeister was the president of Houston-based Shell Oil Company (2005-2008) which topped off a 35-year career as a business leader holding executive positions in General Electric, Nortel and AlliedSignal (now Honeywell International).

The Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum, a one-day conference comprised of a keynote address and three roundtable discussions, begins at 7:30 a.m. ET with registration and breakfast and concludes at 4:30 p.m. ET.  

Immediately following Hofmeister's remarks, a panel of strategists will debate the true economic feasibility of 'clean energy' with a wide-ranging discussion spanning from   technological innovation to closing the divide between developing and industrial countries. Click here for the full Forum agenda.  

Energy industry executives will then share their views on the realities of implementing 'clean energy' solutions, as well as offering their insight as to corporate preparedness for such initiatives.  

The final session of the forum will be an interactive audience-participation discussion with energy policy authorities from around the globe regarding international cooperation. Leading the discussion will be Platts Energy Week TV host Bill Loveless, long-time chief editor of Platts' Inside Energy who brings nearly three decades of energy journalism experience to the moderating chair.

This year's panelists include:

• Guerry Waters, Vice President, Industry Strategy & Marketing, Oracle (Moderator)
• Mark Brownstein, Deputy Director, Energy Program, Environmental Defense Fund
• Michael Lynch, President, Strategic Energy & Economic Research Inc
• Max Sandlin, Partner, Mercury
• David Wyss, Chief Economist, Standard & Poor's
• Robert Brnilovich, Senior Vice President, Landis+Gyr North America (Moderator)
• Jonathan Cook, Chief Operating Officer, Excelerate Energy
• Ray Gogel, President & Chief Operating Officer, CURRENT Group LLC
• Jim Gordon, President, Cape Wind
• Vadim Zhivov, Director General, ARMZ Uranium Holding Co.
• Bill Loveless, Editorial Director, US Energy Policy, Platts (Moderator)
• Malcolm Keay, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Institute
• Ajay Shankar, Asia Program FICCI Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center
• Phil Sharp, President, Resources for the Future

Capgemini is principal sponsor of the Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum and is joined by co-sponsors Landis+Gyr and Oracle and executive sponsor SolArc. The Forum will be held at The McGraw-Hill Companies headquarters, 1221 Avenue of the Americas in midtown Manhattan. With advance registration, accredited journalists are welcome to attend as guests with advance registration: Registration for media. Non media may click here to register or contact: Ann Forte at 720-548-5479 for sponsorship or other information.  

About Platts: Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading global provider of energy and commodities information. With a century of business experience, Platts serves customers across more than 150 countries. An independent provider, Platts serves the oil, natural gas, electricity, emissions, nuclear power, coal, petrochemical, shipping, and metals markets from 17 offices worldwide. Platts' real-time news, pricing, analytical services and conferences help markets operate with transparency and efficiency. Traders, risk managers, analysts, and industry leaders depend upon Platts to help them make better business decisions. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies:

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a global information and education company providing knowledge, insights and analysis in the financial, education and business information sectors through leading brands including Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2009 were $5.95 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.  

SOURCE Platts