A nuclear physicist, Dr. O'Donnell's research expertise includes the political economy of the global energy sector. As a 2008 U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Venezuela, his research involved the development of the national oil company, PDVSA, and petroleum economics in the internal and external policies of the Bolivarian state. His research and related teaching have focused on the Middle East and North African (MENA) states, especially Iran, Iraq, and Algeria, on Latin America, and on domestic energy and environmental issues. He is presently Visiting Fellow at the Department of Graduate Economics of the New School for Social Research in New York City.

International economics expert, Michael Toman is a professorial lecturer in international economics at the Nitze School of International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. He has worked as a senior economist on energy and climate change issues at the RAND Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and Resources for the Future. He has been involved with topic areas including energy policy, energy security, climate change, environmental improvement in Eastern Europe, and sustainable economic development.

Peter Kemp is currently Editorial Director in London for Energy Intelligence, the New York-based energy publisher. He was previously editor of Petroleum Intelligence Weekly (PIW), the flagship publication of Energy Intelligence from 2001 to 2007. Prior to joining Energy Intelligence, he was the editor of the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), the business weekly, joining the magazine as a senior staff writer in 1987 and specializing in the politics and economics of the Mideast region. He is a regular commentator and broadcaster on OPEC, oil and gas issues, the Mideast, and Africa.