Professor Louise Burke

This is the required introductory core IEMP course.  In national and international energy systems, each fuel or other form of energy goes through a chain of physical transformations that change the character or location of the energy, starting with discovery and production of the resource (oil, gas, coal, nuclear, renewables) and ending with energy consumption in an end-user service (space conditioning, process heat, motor drive, etc.)  These transformations are effected through often technologically advanced processes for exploration, production, transportation, conversion (refining, electricity generation, etc.), distribution, and end-user conversion, which are as many services provided by specialized facilities.  Associated with this “physical chain” of transformations and facilities services is a parallel “transaction” chain. The transaction chains support the energy industry at the various stages of capital formation, management and exchange and reflect therefore technological and economic realities. Transactions take place between business enterprises within frameworks set by existing markets for commercial exchange and by legal and regulatory governance infrastructures.  The course presents key aspects of the technology and economic fundamentals as well as the market design, regulatory frameworks and environmental concerns for petroleum, natural gas, and electricity. It does so in ways intended to help understand the co-evolution of the physical and transactional chains in international and domestic energy systems.

Corporate Finance (U6301)
Spring 1st year (Prerequisite: U6200); fulfills IEMP requirement, can fulfill Management Specialization requirement.  Focuses on the primary tasks of the corporate treasurer, showing students how to use ratio analysis to assess corporate performance and project financial statements and cash needs for both projects and whole companies. Devotes substantial time to the question of how much debt is optimal in a firm's capital structure.  Next introduces discounted cash flow and shows how to estimate a weighted average cost of capital to use as a discount rate appropriate to a particular company or project. By the end of the course, students have all the tools necessary to value a company by projecting its free cash flow and discounting it at an appropriate rate.

Economics of Energy (U6065)

Fall, 2nd year
Professor David Nissen
This is the required core quantitative course for the IEMP concentration.  The course consists of weekly lectures and spreadsheet exercises.  Topics covered include  energy accounting, demand modeling, oil market cartel, linear programming models of transportation markets and electricity dispatch, electricity market congestion pricing and hedging, corporate finance for project evaluation including  evaluating tied financing, resource taxation, and introduction to decision trees and real options. (International Energy Systems and Business Structures (U6060) and Corporate Finance (U6301) are prerequisites.)

One workshop is required.  Workshops presented in Spring 2009 are described below.

Energy and economic development workshop
Professors Ellen Morris and Philip LaRocco
In 2008, the client was E+Co. (www.eandco.net), a non-profit investment company for energy enterprises in developing countries.  The workshop concentrated on an analysis and validation of actual transactions, projects or partnerships aimed at delivering modern energy to un-served or under-served populations in developing countries. The workshop combined investigation and evaluation of energy investments and small businesses in a set of developing countries combined with fieldwork in Ghana to get a first-hand view of energy enterprises serving the poor.

Electricity market workshop
Professor AJ Goulding
In 2008, the client was an international management consulting firm specializing in electricity market and regulation design.

Urban energy workshop
Professor Stephen Hammer
In 2008, the client was the New York City Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability.  This workshop's task was to develop a primer for local authorities on how they might participate in various carbon markets, using New York City as a case study.   The team was responsible for analyzing various voluntary and mandatory carbon markets operating around the world (e.g., Chicago Climate Exchange, European Trading Scheme, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, etc.), to determine how each market is structured, what type of deals are typically eligible, what deals are typically worth, etc.

Energy Business and Economic Development (U6042)
Professors Phillip LaRocco and Ellen Morris
This course seeks to achieve a balanced understanding of the role of energy in development and the participation of business in both energy and development activities. It explores country-level energy conditions in the context of global energy production and use.  It explores the distinction between energy supplies (oil, coal, electricity, sunlight) and energy services (light, heat, motive power, cooking fuels) and it highlights the similarities and differences in energy patterns among high, middle and low income countries.  This course will build an understanding of a set of inter-related topics that define much of the current global energy-development dynamic: energy access, climate change and economic opportunity.

Quantitative Methods in Energy Business and Policy Analysis (U6325)
Professor Roy Nersesian
Provides hands-on experience in development and interpretation of quantitative models for energy project evaluation and policy assessment. The student develops and interprets: (1) project cash flow models and (2) market models. Models are used for consistent assessment.

Maritime Transportation, Law & Public Policy (U8562)
Professor Neil Quartaro
This course covers the history of marine transportation from a legal and public policy perspective, at both an international and a domestic level, and focuses on the major strategic public policy issues currently facing the various stakeholders in the sector.  The course objective is to identify these stakeholders, analyze the public policy issues that impact them, and study the public policy responses to the stakeholders’ demands.

Urban Energy Systems and Policy (U8778)
Professor Steven Hammer
Urban energy systems present a unique mix of challenges in technology, market structure, and governance.  In developed economies, competitive markets, new distributed technologies and load management issues all change the economic terms of adoption.  In developing economies, urbanization expands slums with inadequate infrastructure, property and governance systems, and bad or non-existent enduse energy markets.  Possibilities and policies are reviewed and evaluated.

Alternative Energy Resources (U4729)
Professors David Walker and Klaus Lackner
This course, which focuses on alternative energy sources and how they fit into the world energy market, is an essential part of the energy policy concentration.  An emphasis is placed on economic considerations, energy availability, and the environmental consequences of adopting each particular technology.  The course also examines each the alternative fuels most likely to propel our cars and electricity generation plants in the future.

US Energy Security:  The Geopolitics of Oil and Natural Gas (U6680)
Professor Jonathan Chanis
This seminar is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the relationship between US national security and the economics and politics of the international oil and natural gas industry.  The course places the current US energy predicament in the context of recent American experiences, and it analyses how energy policy affects US relations with other states.  The course begins with an examination of “security” and the international petroleum businesses and their implications for security.  A series of case studies are then examined:  issues with Canada, Mexico, Brazil, India, and China.

Spring Semester

Energy Policy (U6242)
Professor TBA
Provides a survey and analysis of energy-related public issues and policies, including access and taxation for natural resources; security and reliability; diversity of fuels and technologies; energy conservation and technology; environmental regulation at the local (air and water quality) and global (climate) levels, market restructuring, and the interaction of energy infrastructure and economic development.  The origin of each policy issue in “market failure” is examined and consequences of policy alternatives are evaluated.

Petroleum Markets and Trading (U6615)
Professors Irene King and Louise Burke
Provides an overview of evolving physical and paper markets for crude oil and petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity.  The first half of the course treats the components of physical markets for petroleum, including the role of energy majors, crude oil markets, shipping, refining and marketing, and supply coverage management.  The second half of the course treats paper trading: introduction to futures markets for oil, natural gas and electricity, market structure and regulation, the use of forward and futures markets to manage project and commodity risk. (International Energy Systems and Business Structures (U6060) and Economics of Energy (U6065) are prerequisites.)

Electricity Markets (U6057)
Professor AJ Goulding
Provides a detailed understanding of the fundamentals of electricity dispatch and market design issues for electric energy, capacity and reliability.  Policy issues in standard market design are explored.  Issues associated with market access for demand response and distributed generation are explored.  Electricity markets in developed and developing countries are examined and evaluated.

International Energy Project Development & Finance (U6040)
Professor David Nissen
Provides an introduction to the processes and issues involved in developing new energy projects outside North America, in both energy producing and consuming countries, and in both advanced and developing economies. Examines the role of stakeholders, including the host government; project developers; engineering, procurement and construction contractors; lenders (public and private); local partners; energy suppliers; and buyers. Provides an integrative analysis of country and business risk, and of techniques used to mitigate or manage those risks by the project developer. (International Energy Systems and Business Structures (U6060) and Economics of Energy (U6065) are prerequisites.  Note that Accounting and Corporate Finance are prerequisite to Economics of Energy.)

Marine Energy Transportation Technology, Economics & Policy (U6657)
Professor Roy Nersesian
This course provides an introduction to tanker transportation of crude oil and petroleum and liner service shipping of finished goods. It covers the history of energy and energy transportation, rate setting mechanisms in a free market economy and under the conference system, the forecasting process in bulk and liner service trades, international governmental policies on oil pollution and regulation of ship operation in bulk and liner service trades, chartering and commercial issues, ship finance and economics, various means of quality assurance in ship operation, and safety and environmental issues.

Risk and Scenario Analysis across the Energy Value Chain (U6048)
Professor Albert Bressand
This course provides an integrated, interdisciplinary perspective on risk management in major oil and gas projects at both corporate and country levels.  It explores the nature of risk-taking by international investors in large scale oil and natural gas projects and places these within the context of sovereign objectives sought by producer countries.  An original scenarios methodology and a typology of how ‘sovereign’ and ‘market’ objectives combine in various political environments are used to explore the relationship between international investors and operators (IOCs), governments, national energy companies (NOCs), and local communities or stakeholders like NGOs.  Case studies from the Eurasian upstream and midstream make concrete the contemporary challenges for corporate-level and country-level risk management, as well as the broader international energy policies and governance issues that affect oil and gas investment.

Energy Business in East Asia
Professor Lou Shrier w/ Professor Antoine Halff
East Asia (predominantly China) will account for the major part of growth in global energy demand over the next several decades, and securing adequate supplies of petroleum will influence economic and foreign policies of countries in the region.  The course will examine the consequent implications for the energy business environment, including both inbound and outbound foreign direct investment.  Lectures will draw on first-hand experience of the instructors and published materials, and students will make presentations and participate in case study discussions. 

Energy Business in Middle Eastern and African Producer Countries
Professor Antoine Halff w/ Professor Lou Shrier
This course will examine the energy business in oil and gas-exporting countries (especially in the Middle East and Africa), which will assume an increasingly important role in the international energy business during the coming decades. In general, managing economic development in these countries will present a major challenge to their governments, with particular emphasis on the energy sector, the nature and extent of foreign direct investment, and the appropriate role of foreign companies. Lectures will draw on first-hand experience of the instructors and published materials, and students will make presentations and participate in case study discussions.