Memorial Service for Dennis J. O'Brien at University of Oklahoma

Sarkey Energy Center

Dr. Richard Mallinson, Professor of Chemical Engineering will begin the service.

Individual sharing their thoughts:

• Mr. Alibek Umbetaliyev, Graduate Student of Dr. O'Brien

• Dr. Evgeni Chesnokov, Director of Theoretical Geophysics

• Mrs. Yoana Walschap, Director of EIA and Program Coordinator of the Managerial Energy Economics Master Program

• Petya Nitzova, Reading for Dr. Boyko Nitzova

• Dr. Pete Lamb, George Lynn Cross Research, Professor of Meteorology and Director NOOAA Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies

• Dr. Musharraf Zaman, Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering

• Mr. Bob Sand, OETA
  

Share your sympathy to his family

by sending an card or e-mail or a call to the following address:

P.O Box 2148
119 Carnoustie Dr.
Trophy Club, TX 76262-2148

or email his son Kevil O'Brien at
Kevin.g.obrien@alum.dartmouth.org

or you can leave your comment here on this blog

Dr. Dennis Jay O'Brien has passed away on Tuesday, Septemper 20, 2005

The Norman Transcript

Longtime Dallas resident Dr. Dennis Jay O'Brien died Tuesday, Sept. 20, while returning home from an International Association of Energy Economists conference in Denver, a group of which Dr. O'Brien was past president. Visitation will be 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. today at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home in Dallas. Services will be 4 p.m. Saturday at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home Chapel. Friends and relatives may pay their last respects at that time. Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Dr. O'Brien was born March 5, 1936, in Omaha, Neb., the fifth of five boys. Early on, his desire to see beyond his immediate world led him to join the Marine Corps and travel to California and beyond. In the Corps, he learned pride and self-discipline and developed a work ethic that combined with his intellectual curiosity defined him. Following his Marine service, he completed his education at the University of Nebraska, where he was awarded bachelor and master of arts degrees. He was awarded a doctoral degree from the University of Missouri in 1974.

Dr. O'Brien held the John A. and Donnie Brock Chair in Energy Economics and Policy and was director of the Institute for Energy Economics and Policy at the University of Oklahoma. He was managing director of Petroad and Energy Advisors was a widely recognized thought leader in international energy. He held several distinguished positions throughout his career including chief economist of Caltex Petroleum Corporation. Prior to joining Caltex, he was deputy assistant secretary for international energy security for the Department of Energy under President Reagan. He held tenured positions and served on boards of several universities.

Family members say Dr. O'Brien's career is a testament to the fact that to him the love of life and pursuit of learning and the arts were deeply intertwined; there could not be one without the other. Intellectual curiosity drove him and allowed him to operate at a pace where others would soon tire. "His curiosity took him to more than 85 countries throughout his career and his love of learning ensured he brought back something from every one for the rest of us," a family member said. His life was spent bridging the world of academics and business and he had a love of higher learning.

Dr. O'Brien is survived by his wife Beverly; children Pamela and Kevin and wife Aoi who is with child; and many students and professionals.

A scholarship fund has been established in Dr. O'Brien's name at Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

Dr. Dennis J. O’Brien
John A. And Donnie Brock Chair in Energy Economics and Policy
Director, Institute for Energy Economics and Policy

Dennis O’Brien is a widely recognized leader in the international energy industry. In 1997, he was the international president of the International Association for Energy Economics, a global organization with 3,500 members in more than 60 nations. In addition, he has been advisor to the chairman, Caltex Petroleum Corp., and managing director, petroad, which assisted clients in developing and implementing strategic business visions and planning for the global energy industry.


Dr. O’Brien has held several distinguished positions throughout his career including that of chief economist and manager of the economics department of Caltex Petroleum Corporation. Prior to joining Caltex, Dr. O’Brien was the deputy assistant secretary for International Energy Security for the Department of Energy. He has also held tenured positions and served on the boards of several universities. Currently, he is an adjunct professor in the School of Petroleum Engineering, University of Regina.

Dr. O'Brien has directed a TDA funded project with KazakhOil for a feasibility study for an oil and gas information management system ($750,000 total value) and is the current director for a TDA funded feasibility study for peak gas storage in the Chiren reservoir for Bulgargaz ($552,000 total value) ENRON is a subcontactor to IEEP for this study. In 1998, he conducted a major review of gas markets in the APEC for the Asia Pacific Energy Research Center and the APEC energy ministers.

Dr. O’Brien has worked extensively on issues of privatization deregulation of the oil and gas sectors in developed and developing countries. He is currently on retainer to the Institute for Industrial Technology and Research, Taipei for work relating to the privatization and deregulation of Taiwan and Taiwan Power and Chinese Petroleum Company. He has participated in several major studies of the issues for the Energy Commission in Taiwan since 1996. He also has served as an expert for the Secretariat of Oil and Gas, India, on the deregulation of the downstream oil and gas sector in 1997-8. He developed a large database on the experience of the US, Korea, Philippines, Thailand and other countries on downstream issues of deregulation. Dr. O’Brien also served in the U S Department of Energy and was actively involved in the development of post Allocation (deregulation) strategies and policies in 1981.

Dr. O’Brien also currently serves on a Study Committee of the World Energy Council devoted to liberalization of global economies. He is the author of a 1997 article in the Harvard International Review, which argues that deregulation and privatization allow economies to more effectively participate in global markets and achieve energy security.

Dr. O'Brien has served on several international advisory boards and panels, including the International Advisory Panel of the East-West Center; the Board of Consultants of the Asia Pacific Energy Publications; Global Resources Consortia in Hong Kong; member of the board and executive committee of the US National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation; and the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Dr. O’Brien’s publications have focused on energy security, world and regional oil and gas markets, Asia-Pacific energy and economic growth, China, deregulation and privatization, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mexico, and the energy policies of the U.S. His most recent article on energy security appeared in the summer 1997 Harvard International Review.

Following service in the United States Marine Corps, he completed his education at the University of Nebraska, where he was awarded both his bachelor and master of arts degrees. Dr. O’Brien was awarded his doctoral degree at the University of Missouri in 1974.

Under O’Brien’s direction, the Institute for Energy Economics and Policy focuses on the global energy industry and its relationship with national and state energy industry issues and policy. The institute provides leadership and brings together the extensive resources of the university in business, economics, and energy sciences, as well as external resources to address the key economic, political, and social policy issues related to energy. In particular, the institute focuses on important energy relationships in Central Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and their relationship with the United States and Oklahoma.

The University of Oklahoma Sarkeys Energy Center
100 East Boyd, Room 510
Norman, Oklahoma 73019-1006
Phone: 405.325.3821 Fax: 405.325.3180
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