WASHINGTON – The Atlantic Council is pleased to name renowned energy expert Adnan Vatansever as a nonresident senior fellow to support the Council’s Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative and its annual Energy and Economic Summit in Istanbul. 

One of the most accomplished energy experts on Eurasian energy issues, Vatansever worked as a senior associate in the Energy and Climate Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace until September 2012, specializing in energy in the former Soviet republics, Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus. 

“Adnan’s expertise in Eurasian energy geopolitics will be a fantastic asset for the Council,” said Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe. “He will join our great team on Eurasian and energy issues of strategic importance at the Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center and the Energy and Environment Program and will help us carry forward our unique Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative, a joint initiative of the two programs.” 

Vatansever’s areas of research have included oil and gas supply in Eurasia, energy transportation and export dynamics in Russia and the Caspian region, Russia’s tax and regulatory environment for the energy sector, Turkey’s role as an energy transit country, energy scenarios for Eurasia, and Russian climate policy. Before joining Carnegie, Vatansever worked on similar issues as a senior associate for Cambridge Energy Research Associates (IHS CERA). 

Previously, he developed at the World Bank a research framework for the management of oil and gas revenues in resource-rich countries, advised the Ankara government on reforming Turkey’s gas market, and served as an energy consultant for the US Energy Department’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, advising on gas transportation projects for Central Asia. Vatansever has a PhD from the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and MA from Georgetown University. 

The Atlantic Council, building on the solid track record of its Energy and Environment Program and its Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center in working on energy and regional issues, assembled the Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative to help decision-makers engage with stakeholders from industry, government, and NGOs and chart a course for sustainable development and trade of global energy resources.