"A Call Of Awareness" Featuring Paul Dabbar, CEO, Bohr Quantum Technology and Former Under Secretary For Science, US DOE

C.O.B. Tuesday

It was our privilege today to welcome Paul Dabbar, CEO of Bohr Quantum Technology. In addition to his position at Bohr, Paul is a Senior Research Scholar and Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Board Member of Dominion Energy, and a Contributor to the Wall Street Journal. Paul’s distinguished career in the energy sector spans several significant roles including his tenure as the Under Secretary for Science at the US Department of Energy from 2017 to 2021. Prior to that, he held senior finance and strategy roles at JP Morgan and he is also a nuclear marine officer and graduate of the US Naval Academy. We were delighted to visit with Paul.
Our discussion centered on a recent piece Paul wrote for the Hoover Institution entitled “US Energy Superpower Status and a New US Energy Diplomacy” (linked here). The report examines how US energy diplomacy should shift to a more positive and powerful tone given the country’s achievements in the industry in the past decade and its newfound status as the global energy superpower. In our conversation with Paul, we cover key themes from his report, the concept of an “all of the above” energy policy and the importance of balancing energy production, prices, emissions, and national security, the potential for collaboration between the US, Canada, and Norway, anticipated growth in electricity demand, strategies for developing countries in meeting their energy demand while reducing reliance on coal, and the benefits of the US partnering with other countries in offering both traditional energy resources and new technologies with lower carbon intensity. We discuss whether explicit carbon reduction goals are necessary, the effectiveness of innovation-led strategy, the government’s role in supporting energy innovation, national security concerns particularly with regards to importing EVs and other energy-related technologies, Paul’s perspective on reforming the IRA, the coordination of energy policy across various government agencies, and much more. It was a wide ranging and fascinating discussion. Thank you for joining, Paul!
Mike Bradley kicked us off by discussing the February CPI report, noting it was hotter than expected but had little impact on broader energy markets. Bitcoin and broader energy markets continue to be in a “risk-on-mode” driven by consensus of a soft-landing U.S. economic scenario and seem less focused on interest rates and more focused on AI/big tech euphoria. WTI continues to be relatively rangebound, crude oil time spreads have pulled back modestly but still remain in steep backwardation, and OPEC reiterated its previous 2024 demand growth forecast of 2.2mmbpd. In natural gas, prompt and the 12-month natural gas strip have pulled back modestly, U.S. natural gas storage this week increased to >30% above normal, and lower 48 dry gas production has decreased due to continued producer cutbacks. Mike also highlighted Shell’s upcoming Energy Transition Report, the UK’s allowance for new natural gas generation into the 2030s, and that data centers are desperate for power and could look at natural gas power generation as part of their power mix. He mentioned the EQT Corp and Equitran’s Midstream merger and suggested that U.S. natural gas demand estimates may be underestimated given data center and C&I growth. Arjun Murti built on the themes Mike raised and emphasized the need for a healthier energy evolution that aligns policies with the necessity of meeting unmet energy needs while addressing environmental concerns and the evolving role of traditional energy in power generation.
We hope you all enjoy the discussion as much as we did. Our best to you all!