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In a rare public appearance, the CEO of one of the six largest energy companies in the world, David O'Reilly, will focus on California's energy future, including efforts to increase the use of low-carbon energy sources. The global energy industry faces a "new equation," says O'Reilly: a challenge to produce reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible energy supplies to meet rising demand.
In 2005, O'Reilly came under severe criticism for his decision to invest $1.5 billion dollars in Dynergy, the faltering power company, and doubts followed as to whether the corporation could sustain the acquisition of Texaco that same year. Also in 2005, in the hardest-fought takeover battle in years, Chevron bought Unocal, making O'Reilly one of the most influential people in the American oil industry. O'Reilly began his career at Chevron in 1968 and became president of Chevron Products Co. in 1994.
O'Reilly is a director and a member of the Executive Committee and Policy Committee of the American Petroleum Institute. He is also a director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Eisenhower Fellowships Board of Trustees. He is a member of the World Economic Forum's International Business Council, the National Petroleum Council, the JPMorgan International Council, and the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals International Advisory Board. Born in Dublin, Ireland in January 1947, he earned his Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from University College, Dublin, from which he also received an honorary doctor of science degree in June 2002.
This program was recorded live on June 6, 2007.
