Biography
Jim Krane, Ph.D., is the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston. He specializes in energy geopolitics, with a focus on oil-exporting countries and the challenges they face from energy subsidies, internal demand and climate change. He teaches classes on energy policy and geopolitics at Rice University.
Krane's scholarly articles have been published in Nature Energy, Energy Policy, Energy Journal, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, MRS Energy and Sustainability, the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists as well as numerous edited volumes.
He is the author of two books. His acclaimed 2009 volume “City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism” is widely recognized as the seminal work on the iconoclastic city-state, while his award-winning 2019 book “Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf” is the definitive study of energy demand in the Gulf region.
Krane spent nearly 20 years as a journalist, six of them in the Middle East. He was a longtime correspondent for the Associated Press based in Dubai, Baghdad and New York, and has written for myriad other publications including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and the Economist Intelligence Unit. He is the winner of several journalism awards including the 2003 AP Managing Editors Deadline Reporting Award, received for his coverage of Saddam Hussein’s capture in Iraq. Krane received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, master’s from Columbia University and bachelor’s from City College of New York.
Contact him at jkrane@rice.edu or (713) 348-3567.
Recent Publications
Methane Woes Vex Permian Producers' Effort to Win Gas Customers
A glut of associated gas in the Permian Basin could cause a clash between producers and buyers trying to minimize emissions. It’s for the Texas Railroad Commission to decide, said fellow Jim Krane: “[Will we] maintain the view that gas is a waste product?”
Why the Gulf’s Oil Powers Are Betting On Clean Energy
"Saudi Arabia holds major advantages in decarbonisation," Baker Institute fellow Jim Krane told The Economist. He pointed to vast tracts of empty, sunny land with a geology tailor-made for storing carbon emitted in adjacent industrial areas.
Qatar Extends Its Natural Gas Dominance at Russia’s Expense
"The Qataris are not going to let a big European energy crisis go to waste," fellow Jim Krane told The New York Times, as Russian energy exports to the continent slow and Qatar maneuvers to become a critical source of natural gas.