Conference Presentation, Fireside Chat, Interview
Dinner Panel: Mike Milken Interviews Eike Batista and T. Boone Pickens
- Energy and education are identified as the two fundamental societal problems, with energy described as the critical driver for solving water scarcity, food production, and four of the ten major societal challenges, utilizing wind power and domestic natural gas resources.
- The United States is predicted to possess the world's largest energy reserves in shale and coal, offering the cheapest natural gas at $2 per unit compared to $13 in Europe and $16 in Beijing, while the speaker anticipates the Senate version of the Nat Gas Act failing to reach a filibuster-proof majority.
- Plans include solving energy independence for America by leveraging domestic resources, with a goal to pass President Slim and create a new Brazil emerging from financial system supervision, while the speaker intends to retire from Washington after completing these efforts.
- Global oil production is expected to decline as major fields are tapped, necessitating an immense effort to replace the 80 to 85 billion barrels extracted annually, with Brazil highlighted as a new frontier containing 100 billion barrels of offshore oil discoveries.
- Brazil is forecasted to add 50 million consumers over the next decade and achieve consistent annual growth of 4 to 5.5 percent, supported by an EBX Group investment of $15.5 billion between 2011 and 2012, with total commitments reaching $50 billion over the next ten years.
- A new factory in Brazil will be built with $1 billion in investment, while a billion-dollar contract with IBM is expected for intelligent solutions implementation, and the speaker plans to become the world's biggest philanthropist by contributing one billion dollars.
- Legislation to amend natural gas use for heavy-duty trucks is predicted to pass with government support, potentially accelerating truck conversion from eight to four or five years and providing a tax credit of $24,000 per truck, saving users $1.50 to $2.00 per gallon.
- Material expectations include closing a deal with Abu Dhabi after a year of due diligence involving 18,000 documents, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, and substantially reducing the trade deficit.
- Economic projections suggest S&P 500 companies will see 60 percent profit streams in Brazil, where only 5 percent of GDP consists of mortgages, and the speaker has 1.7 million people signed up to support the mission alongside 13 states, though Washington remains unengaged.
- Risks involve the political inability in Washington where a 51-47 majority is insufficient to win, and the speaker notes the emergency that drilling alone cannot solve, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive plan despite having worked on the problem since 1988 without full resolution by 2012.