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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2005

Contact: Lisa Merkl
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NEW ENERGY PUBLICATION LAUNCHED BY UH’S MICHAEL ECONOMIDES
World Energy Monthly Review Offers Hard-hitting Analysis of Energy Sector

HOUSTON, April 11, 2005 – Michael Economides, University of Houston chemical engineering professor, and World Energy magazine launched a new energy publication. World Energy Monthly Review debuts in April.

This new publication will focus more on analysis and commentary and have more in-depth editorial independence than its sister magazine. It will provide a discussion forum for energy’s role in becoming a strategic factor in global geopolitics. While the authors of World Energy magazine have been mostly top CEOs in the energy industry, World Energy Monthly Review will be more analytical and evaluative in nature.

“We will not hesitate to criticize anyone in the energy industry,” Economides said.

With Economides as editor-in-chief and Senior Writer Robert Bryce, a noted reporter and author of “Pipe Dreams” and “Cronies,” at the helm, the editorial board includes a host of Russian, Chinese and American editors. The review will be funded through numerous external sources, subscription fees and partially through World Energy magazine.

According to Economides, energy consumption, which is crucial to national power and economic growth, will be the most discernible national characteristic that separates rich from poor countries in the future. The United States is the richest nation in the group and one of the most intense energy users in the world. Energy use in developed countries is a function of geography, the makeup of the countries and preferences of the people. The world’s most populous countries – China and India – continue to lag behind in income and energy consumption. For these two nations to reach the developed world’s level, much remains to be accomplished, presenting an international challenge.

“There is a substantial imbalance in the location of energy producers and consumers,” Economides said. “This imbalance has precipitated world conflicts and one that will likely cause future upheavals. Prominent among these areas is the Middle East where five of the six countries with 75 billion barrels of reserves are located. The Straits of Hormuz, through which one third of all world oil trade passes, is a geopolitical choke point. Other areas such as Venezuela, Nigeria and Indonesia also have caused or are causing difficulties in their ability to deliver oil.”

Notably, energy consumption due to wealth and primary energy sources has not been constant in the last two centuries. The process has been dynamic and technology has played a strong role. Nations have and continue to rise in status by adopting developed technologies and efficiencies, without having to repeat pioneering processes already accomplished by other countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, he said.

“Of considerable significance is the change of fuels from wood to coal to oil and now to natural gas and, eventually, to hydrogen,” Economides said. “The de-carbonization of fuels is an extraordinary evolutionary process, and natural gas is viewed as the compelling next fuel of choice worldwide, as well as a necessary stepping stone toward hydrogen.”

With the vast, worldwide concern for energy and upcoming changes, World Energy Monthly Review anticipates providing the discussion ground for further elaboration.

“We hope that someday the review will become THE true, hard-hitting, no-holds-barred energy analysis magazine in the world,” Economides said.

For more information about World Energy Monthly Review, visit http://www.worldenergysource.com/wemr/index.cfm.

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