Financial Sense Newshour with Jim Puplava

Energy: It's Still Cheap

Matthew R. Simmons

Chairman, Simmons & Company International and Author, Twilight in the Desert

August 9, 2008

Matthew Simmons Matthew R. Simmons is Chairman Emeritus of Simmons & Company International, a specialized energy investment banking firm. The firm has completed approximately 770 investment banking projects for its worldwide energy clients at a combined dollar value in excess of $140 billion.

Mr. Simmons was raised in Kaysville, Utah. He graduated cum laude from the University of Utah and received an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School. He served on the faculty of Harvard Business School as a Research Associate for two years and was a Doctoral Candidate.

Mr. Simmons began a small investment bank/advisory firm in Boston. Among his early clients were several subsea service companies. By 1973, almost all of his clients were oil service companies. Following the 1973 Oil Shock, Simmons decided to create a Houston-based firm to concentrate on providing highest quality investment banking advice to the worldwide oil service industry. Over time, the specialization expanded into investment banking covering all aspects of the global energy industry.

SCI’s offices are located in Houston, Texas; London, England; Boston, Massachusetts; Aberdeen, Scotland and Dubai, UAE.

In 2007, Mr. Simmons founded The Ocean Energy Institute in Mid-Coast Maine. The Institute’s focus is to research and create renewable energy sources from all aspects of our oceans.

Simmons serves on the Board of Directors of Houston Technology Center (Houston) and the Center for Houston’s Future (Houston). He also serves on The University of Texas’ M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Foundation Board of Visitors (Houston) and is a Trustee of the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences. In addition, he is past Chairman of the National Ocean Industry Association. Mr. Simmons is a past President of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association and a former member of the Visiting Committee of Harvard Business School. He is a member of the National Petroleum Council, Council on Foreign Relations and The Atlantic Council of the United States. Mr. Simmons is a Trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Island Institute and Farnsworth Art Museum in Maine.

Mr. Simmons’ published book Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy has been listed on the Wall Street Journal’s best-seller list. He has also published numerous energy papers for industry journals and is a frequent speaker at government forums, energy symposiums and in boardrooms of many leading energy companies around the world.

Mr. Simmons is married and has five daughters. His hobbies include watercolors, cooking, writing and travel.

Past Interviews

FSN Energy Roundtable, February 2, 2008
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All the Canaries Have Stopped Singing, August 18, 2007
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The GAO Report on Peak Oil, April 7, 2007
Crude Oil - Uncertainty about Future Oil supply Makes It Important to Develop a Strategy for Addressing a Peak and Decline in Oil Production [report - pdf]
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Critique of the CERA Report, November 25, 2006
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Update on Peak Oil and Beyond, September 30, 2006
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Tough Times Ahead for Energy, April 29, 2006
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"Twilight in the Desert" August 6, 2005
Transcript | Interview