Join UNC Global Affairs for a Diplomatic Discussion with economist and energy policy analyst Tilak Doshi offering a fresh perspective on the geostrategic impact of America’s newly exerted influence over Venezuelan oil. Doshi will argue that “the de facto U.S. takeover of Venezuela’s oil future marks a decisive reordering of the global petroleum chessboard, tilting power toward non-OPEC producers in the Americas and sharply curbing the room China and Russia once had to use Venezuela as a strategic beachhead in the Western Hemisphere.”

The Diplomacy Initiative is committed to bringing diverse viewpoints to Carolina, offering students the opportunity to engage with ideas that challenge their thinking and deepen their understanding of complex global issues.

Thursday, Feb. 5
5:30 p.m., pizza to follow!
FedEx Global Education Center, Nelson Mandela Auditorium

CLE credit is available. 

The Diplomatic Discussion speaker series is part of Carolina’s Diplomacy Initiative, which introduces students to shared global challenges and provides them opportunities to practice skills necessary to address those challenges. In 2025, UNC Global Affairs launched the Carolina Diplomacy Fellows for students interested in deepening their engagement with the Diplomacy Initiative.  

Read more about Tilak Doshi

Tilak K. Doshi is Energy Editor at The Daily Sceptic. He is an industry expert with over 30 years of international work experience in leading oil and gas companies and think tanks.

His previous appointments include visiting senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and National University of Singapore; managing consultant (Asia) at Muse Stancil & Co; chief economist at the Energy Studies Institute of the National University of Singapore; senior fellow and program director at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia); executive director for energy at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC, UAE); specialist consultant at Saudi Aramco (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia); chief Asia economist at Unocal Corporation (Singapore); director for economic and industry analysis at Atlantic Richfield Corporation (ARCO, Los Angeles, U.S.); and head of research at Louis Dreyfus Energy (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd.

Doshi is the author of many articles and three books on energy economics, the most recent of which was “Singapore Chronicles: Energy” (Straits Times Press, 2016). He was previously a Forbes contributor. He has published op-eds in the Straits Times (Singapore), Asia Times, The Spectator (US), South China Morning Post, Jerusalem Post, Business Standard (India), RealClearEnergy and elsewhere.

He received his doctorate in economics from the University of Hawaii on a scholarship provided by the East-West Centre. He was granted the 1984 Robert S. McNamara Research Fellow award by World Bank, Washington, D.C., and he received a distinction for master’s in economics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.