Eric Smith

Associate Director of the Tulane Energy Institute, Professor of Practice

  • New Orleans LA UNITED STATES
  • Goldring/Woldenberg Business Complex
  • A.B. Freeman School of Business
esmith11@tulane.edu504-865-5031

Professor Eric Smith is an expert in energy markets and the oil and gas industry.

Contact

Spotlight

2 min

Tulane expert available to speak on historic offshore wind sale in the Gulf of Mexico

Tulane University’s Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute at the A.B. Freeman School of Business and expert on energy markets, including the oil and gas industry and renewable segments, is available to comment on the benefits to Louisiana and Texas from the Department of Interior’s first-ever offshore wind sale in the Gulf of Mexico.Smith can speak on the following: The importance and benefits of the offshore wind sale to the State of Louisiana, as well as the entire Gulf Coast.Why offshore deep-water wind power opportunities may benefit the state longer term.The 10 significant benefits of deep-water wind power vs. shallow water.The areas to be auctioned on August 29, 2023, by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management have the potential to generate approximately 3.7 GW and power almost 1.3 million homes with clean, renewable energy.“This is a fairly big deal because it is the first such federal lease offering space offshore of Louisiana, and there are numerous benefits, Smith said. “The former head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is consulting to expedite another larger sale. This suggests that the administration is focusing more on developing the Gulf of Mexico offshore wind option. In addition, the Department of Justice is putting money into the fray to specifically support floating wind (wind turbines secured to floating structures rather than fixed structures). That is also a good indication since floating wind is forecasted to represent about two-thirds of the United States’ total potential.”Beyond the Department of the Interior (BOEM) efforts, the Department of Energy is putting grant money into the economy to specifically support floating wind (turbines secured to floating structures in deeper water rather than to shallower fixed structures). That is heading in the right direction since floating wind is forecasted to total about two-thirds of the United States’ total offshore wind potential. Smith has been interviewed on various energy-related topics, including gas prices, renewable energy transmission and power distribution. He can be reached at esmith11@tulane.edu or via Roger Dunaway, assistant director of media relations, at roger@tulane.edu.

Eric Smith

2 min

Will higher gas prices have Americans singing the blues this holiday season and into 2022?

As Americans gear up for the upcoming holiday season and ready for the New Year, they will encounter somewhat higher fuel prices, affecting everything from air or automobile travel to heating their homes. According to AAA, current gasoline prices are higher than average across the country and the highest since 2014. The average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. is now $3.39, down one penny from last week. Natural gas, which is the primary heating fuel for about half of U.S. homes, will cost about 30% more than last year, according to a winter forecast by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.Tulane University energy expert Eric Smith is available to speak about the reasons behind the current fuel crises, the immediate future of fuel costs and offer insight into when customers may see relief from rising gas and natural gas prices. For interviews, contact pr@tulane.edu or Roger Dunaway at roger@tulane.edu or 504-452-2906.“Gasoline prices correlate highly with the underlying costs of crude oil, which did see a significant drop over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. However, the decline was from highs that hadn’t been seen in years,” said Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute at Tulane’s A. B. Freeman School of Business. In early 2022, we will be at the height of the winter season, with reduced demand for transportation fuel but a high demand for heating fuels. Smith thinks consumers should be prepared for higher prices at the pump for the next few months.“The underlying fundamentals of a world rapidly emerging from the COVID-19-induced slowdown, coupled with announced federal policy changes designed to slow down the financing, and hence growth, of new oil and gas production, remain intact. Conventional wisdom is that increasing the cost of hydrocarbons, through new restrictions and increased taxes, is not the way to reduce their ultimate selling prices.“As a result, the short-term crude oil price trend remains up. We expect that the resulting gasoline prices will be volatile but will continue to increase between now and mid-2022, after which they will stabilize and then decline.”

Eric Smith

2 min

Tulane expert available to speak about energy market impacts of Saudi Arabia oil attack

Tulane University energy industry expert Eric Smith is available to speak about how the recent drone attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia could impact world oil and gas supplies and the U.S. market. Smith, who is associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute at Tulane’s A. B. Freeman School of Business, said the following: IMPACT ON UNITED STATES: “Anytime there is a measurable loss of capacity, in this case, crude capacity, there is a market reaction. However, given that the U.S. has ample supplies, particularly of light crude, the loss of Saudi light crude is not much of an issue. Also, the president has already authorized withdrawals from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). My bet is that, except for an isolated emergency spot shipment in the export market, the SPR won't be required, even with a short-term loss of 5 million barrels per day. The initial price spike was less than $10 per barrel on the spot price for crude oil. That translates into $.24/gallon in the price of gasoline at the pump. That should decline rapidly to something like $5.00 per barrel or $.12/gallon over the next two weeks." INTERNATIONAL IMPACT: “In terms of countries that will be hurt, Asia, and particularly China, come to mind. Presently they are large importers of Middle East crude. The United States, not so much, due to a conscious effort by OPEC and Russia to divert supplies of heavy sour crude to China.  Heavy crudes dominate our current imports. As for gas, the first thing to point out is that the Saudis are not exporters of LNG or pipeline gas, but do use gas for SABIC, their petrochemical operation, and for power generation. The petrochemical industry could see some tightening of prices, as the Saudis rebalance available gas supplies after the attack. Our guess is that they will preferentially supply SABIC while switching gas for power generation over to more oil-fed generation. Their economy should be negatively affected, while other international LNG, LPG and petrochemical suppliers would make up any temporary shortage and benefit accordingly." IMPACT ON LOUISIANA: "The Louisiana economy should see minimal effects. Higher oil and product prices will be welcomed by our refineries while our new olefins and methanol plants will benefit on the petrochemical front. It is conceivable that we could also benefit from the diversion of remaining Saudi heavy oil supplies from China to the U.S. Gulf Coast as part of a rapprochement between China and the United States. Due to the size of the two affected facilities, our engineering and construction firms could also see some short-term benefit."  

Eric Smith

Media

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Biography

In addition to being the associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, Prof. Smith teaches in the Energy Specialization program which is open to all Freeman students. Professor Eric N. Smith also produces essential reports and serves as the public face of the Energy Institute, responding to local and national media on energy-related questions. Current plans include a presentation in Shenzhen, China in September concerning Sino-American Energy Trade Policy.

Professor Smith draws on 36 years of experience in the petrochemical industry and in the international offshore drilling and construction sectors. He provides market analysis and economic research on a variety of issues affecting the energy sector such as reports on the potential for exporting LNG and Light, Sweet Crude Oil, studies on the economic impact of unconventional shale oil and gas development, reports on the use of Petroleum Coke as a feed stock for power generation, and research into the use of bio-butanol as a substitute for ethanol in gasoline blends.

Professor Smith is Tulane's media spokesman for energy issues and is the Energy Committee chairman for the World Trade Center of New Orleans. He has served as a consultant to Louisiana’s Department of Economic Development and to Greater New Orleans, Inc. In addition, he has served on the city’s energy advisory board to assist with improving the efficiency of electric power generation and distribution.

Areas of Expertise

Energy
Oil and Gas Industry
Energy - Power and Utilities
Gas Prices
Transmission and Power Distribution
Renewable Energy
Financial Anallysis
Financial Modeling
Valuation

Education

Tulane University

M.B.A.

Business Administration

1967

Georgia Institute of Technology

B.S.

Chemical Enginering

1965

Affiliations

  • National Offshore Industries Association
  • Society of Petroleum Engineers
  • International Association of Energy Economists - Louisiana Branch

Media Appearances

Groups debate severity of 14-year-old oil leak off Louisiana’s coast

Fox 8  online

2018-10-22

“The government is sitting on Taylor’s money,” said Eric Smith with the Tulane Energy Institute. “The government has to make the decision what they want to do - not Taylor.”
Smith said Taylor fixed what it could without risking making things worse, which he says was a real threat.

“The government didn’t have a solution other than to wait and see, which is what’s been happening for 14 years,” Smith said...

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The Interview: Tulane Energy Institute’s Eric Smith says the oil market is still oversupplied, but ‘the bottom has passed’

Business Report  online

2016-08-03

Trying to predict what’s going to happen in the oil business might be a fool’s errand, but Eric Smith, associate director at the Tulane University Energy Institute, was nice enough to play along with us. Smith, a former energy executive, says the market is still significantly oversupplied but that the downstream sector is still doing quite well. The Baton Rouge area may have been hurt by a lack of activity in the westward portion of the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, but the petrochemical industry is helping soften that blow, he says. What follows is an edited version of Smith’s recent conversation with Business Report...

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The NGLs Interview: Eric Smith, associate director of the Energy Institute at the AB Freeman School of Business, Tulane University

Gas Strategies  online

2016-04-03

Gas Matters speaks to Eric Smith, industry veteran and former head of Saipem’s US subsidiary, now associate director of the AB Freeman School of Business’ Energy Institute at Tulane University in Louisiana, to ask him about how record levels of NGL production in the US are creating troublesome bottlenecks in parts of the country, while also spurring big investments that add value to the supply from the Marcellus shale.

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