John Foster addresses the role of petroleum in recent conflicts, including oil-producing countries and pipeline transit countries. For major powers and allies, he explores military interventions, tensions around international waterways, and the use of sanctions related to petroleum trade.

He describes the “petroleum game,” the jockeying for control of the world’s oil and natural gas. It’s an ongoing rivalry among global and regional countries, each pursuing its own interests and using whatever tools, allies and organizations offer advantage. Drawing on his book, Oil and World Politics, he illuminates government actions and petroleum-related reasons that are rarely discussed publicly.

Itinerary:
6:00 pm Doors open
6:30 pm Dinner with the speaker (RSVP)
7:40 pm Doors open to the public
8:00 pm Public presentation begins

Two ways to register by Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/canada-oil-and-world-politics-tickets-69794959603

[1] Presentation only – 8 pm – free
[2] Dinner with the speaker at 6 pm, followed by presentation.
Students – $20 per plate
All other CIC members – $25 per plate
Nonmembers – $35 per plate

If joining for dinner, payment by credit card (deadline: Sept 16, 4:00 p.m.). Dinner registrants will be expected to pay even if they cannot or do not attend. Persons with dinner reservations who cannot attend are encouraged to find someone else to take their place.

For more information, contact: saskatoon@thecic.org

Speaker’s Biography
As an international oil economist, John Foster witnessed the geopolitics of petroleum in more than 30 countries. He held positions with the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, BP group and Petro-Canada – working in three capital cities: London, Washington DC, and Ottawa. He grew up in London, graduating in economics and law from Cambridge University. His work has appeared in Open Canada, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and Ottawa Citizen. In the past decade, he has given many talks across Canada on petroleum rivalries and conflicts – including various CIC Branches. His recent book is Oil and World Politics: The real story of today’s conflict zones – Iraq, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ukraine and more (Lorimer, Toronto, 2018).