Robin Mills
Non-Resident Fellow, AGSI; CEO, Qamar Energy
Robin Mills is a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute and the CEO of Qamar Energy. He established Qamar Energy in 2015 to meet the need for regionally based Middle East energy insight. He is an expert on energy strategy and economics, described by Foreign Policy Magazine as “one of the energy world’s great minds.”
Mills has led major consulting assignments for the European Union in Iraq, and for a variety of international oil companies on Middle East business development, integrated gas and power generation, and renewable energy. Mills worked for a decade for Shell, concentrating on new business development in the Middle East. He subsequently worked for six years with Dubai Holding and the Emirates National Oil Company, where he advanced business development efforts in the Middle East energy sector.
He is a fellow at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy and senior fellow of the Iraq Energy Institute, spent two years as the non-resident fellow for energy at the Brookings Institution, is a columnist on energy and environment for The National and Bloomberg, and is the author of the influential report on Middle East solar, Sunrise in the Desert, and two books, The Myth of the Oil Crisis, and Capturing Carbon.
He holds a first-class degree in geology from the University of Cambridge, and speaks Arabic, Farsi, Dutch, and Norwegian.
Analysis
The Reach of the GCC’s Booming Renewables Sector Exceeds Grasp
Exports of power from the Gulf’s thriving renewables and battery sector could become a key driver of the economy, but restrained grid interconnectivity with neighbors limits any breakthrough.
Kuwait’s Big New Offshore Oil Find
Can the offshore Al-Nokhatha discovery help Kuwait’s oil and gas investments sail ahead?
Can Iran Sustain Its Oil and Gas Export Surge?
Iran’s oil resurgence is a critical market and political development, but the Iranian energy industry remains in a shaky state.
GCC Grid Infrastructure and Connectivity – An Electrifying Vision
The Middle East could become the center of an electric spider’s web, but such dreams face massive challenges.
Can Kuwait Grasp the Dorra Gas Pearl?
Recent Iranian claims have again raised questions over the contested Dorra gas field.
Fossil Fuels and the Gulf Energy Transition
While the global energy transition will present challenges for the Gulf Arab states, there are climate-compatible ways to use a significant portion of Gulf hydrocarbon reserves.
Events
Mar 10, 2022
Following Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, Can Gulf Countries Stabilize Energy Markets?
On March 10, AGSIW hosted a discussion examining the impact of the Ukraine crisis on global oil and gas markets and the direct effects on the Gulf region.
Speakers
May 19, 2021
The Future of Renewable and Low Carbon Energy in the Middle East and North Africa
On May 19, AGSIW hosted a discussion on the transition to renewable and low carbon energy in the Middle East and North Africa.
Speakers
Oct 22, 2020
The Geopolitics of Oil and Gas and U.S.-Gulf Arab Relations
As part of the sixth annual Petro Diplomacy conference, AGSIW hosted a virtual panel discussion on the geopolitics of oil.
Speakers
Oct 21, 2020
What Are the Prospects for Natural Gas in the Transition to a Lower Carbon World?
The coronavirus pandemic has delivered an unprecedented shock to the global natural gas market.
Speakers
Apr 21, 2020
After Agreement to Cut Production, What’s Next for Oil- and Gas-Producing Countries?
On April 21, AGSIW hosted a virtual panel discussion analyzing the historic deal that ended the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Speakers
Mar 10, 2020
The Collapse of OPEC+ and the Oil Price Crash
On March 10, AGSIW hosted a briefing analyzing recent tensions within the alliance of OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, OPEC+, and the ensuing oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Speakers
