CERAWeek Mood in 2017 Different From Last Year Due to Oil Price Hike - Chair

The atmosphere in which the 2017 CERAWeek conference will be held is different from the previous year because of the significant oil price increase, the energy conference chairman Daniel Yergin told Sputnik on Sunday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The 2017 CERAWeek kicks off on March 6 and will last through March 10.

"The oil market is different from the last year, the oil price is 75 percent higher than it was last year. The mood is different," Yergen said. "People are thinking not about survival but about the future and about the investment."

Yergin noted that an "extraordinary" group of some 3,000 people, including 488 speakers, from 60 countries have come to the forum this year to talk about what is going to happen in the future of energy.

"We have a very strong theme of technology," the chairman added. "Understanding all the key questions which range from what's going to be the growth of shale oil in the United States, what kind of automobiles we are going to drive in 20 years, what's that going to mean for oil demand."

CERAWeek is an annual international conference, bringing together energy industry leaders, government officials and experts to discuss key issues of the energy market.