Amos J Hochstein currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR). In this capacity, Mr. Hochstein oversees the Office of Middle East & Asia and the Office of Europe, the Western Hemisphere & Africa where he leads the bureau's energy diplomacy efforts. He oversees U.S. foreign policy engagement in the critical intersection of energy and national security. In this role, he focuses on promoting U.S. interests to ensure energy resources are used to increase economic opportunity, stability and prosperity around the world.

1. How has America's role in global energy markets evolved and what are the key considerations contributing to the country's energy diplomacy and foreign policy engagement?

We are witnessing major upheaval in traditional energy markets owing to the shale "revolution" and increased hydrocarbon production from non-traditional suppliers. Decreased reliance on foreign oil and gas suppliers allows the United States to act with increased flexibility, but in no way means that the United States will recede from its leadership role in the international community. Energy markets are global and disruptions anywhere affect markets everywhere. Instead, the United States is acting to use energy as a source of collaboration and cooperation rather than a catalyst of conflict. We are sharing best practices and lessons learned on the extraction of unconventional resources and working to promote transparent, competitive markets. Finally, we are working with our friends and allies to develop cleaner and more economic sources of energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to battle the effects of climate change.

2. The unconventional oil and gas revolution has transformed America's energy future. In addition to domestic energy security, what are the strategic advantages of US energy exports?

The outlook for the United States' energy security future has changed dramatically in recent years, mostly due to the extraction of unconventional resources. The price of natural gas in the U.S. has dropped from over $13 per million BTU in 2008 to under $4 today. Our industries are now more competitive and our carbon emissions are at their lowest levels in 13 years due to switching to cleaner, more efficient natural gas power generation facilities. We have gone from being the world's largest importer of natural gas to a projected net exporter in just the next couple of years. Reduced reliance on foreign imports and increased exports of energy also has positive implications for our trade balance. Additionally, U.S. energy exports will help develop more competitive and transparent global markets to develop lower domestic and global prices, thereby improving the energy security of our friends and allies around the world.

3. Growing Asian economies are greatly dependent on imported oil and gas to fuel economic growth. In your opinion, what is the main challenge relating to energy security in Asia and how do you see US engagement with Asia developing in this area?

Across the Asia Pacific, domestic demand is rising and production is slowing or in decline. The region will increasingly look to new sources of external supply in order to meet its energy needs. A sharp rise in US shale gas production, increased LNG investments in the US, Africa, Australia and elsewhere, and the potential for shale gas development globally, raise the potential for more natural gas for Asian consumer countries. The major challenge to the region's energy security is the divergence in global gas markets with gas in the United States trading at around $3 per mmbtu versus $16 - $17 mmbtu in Asia. Developing a more competitive regional gas market with more competitive pricing will be essential in ensuring Asian nations move away from their current over-reliance on coal. The United States has developed regulatory, financial, and technical expertise on market development and can share best practices capacity building with our regional partners.

4. The US-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Energy Partnership (USACEP) was proposed last November. In the past year, what has the progress been like and how has Asia gained from this partnership?

Together with our USACEP partners, we have made strong strides towards the Partnership's four regional priorities in 2013: renewables and cleaner energy, power markets and interconnectivity, the emerging role of natural gas, sustainable development. One of most significant accomplishments is the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Clean Energy Program at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. The program will leverage USACEP resources to catalyze private U.S. investment in the Asia-Pacific region by offering a range of tools, such as financing, insurance, project preparation and technical assistance support, while enhancing U.S.-Asia business partnerships. In addition, regional workshops and events such as the regional gas conference held in Jakarta in April and our Power Markets for the Future event here in Singapore have provided venues to develop public private partnerships that will develop practical solutions to bring cleaner, more secure energy to the Asia Pacific region. We are pleased that Singapore and Vietnam have agreed to join us on the USACEP steering committee.

5. What are your views on the future of public-private partnership in energy projects?

As mentioned, public-private partnerships are vital to the success to the US-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Energy Partnership, which is indicative to their value to energy issues more broadly. The IEA forecasts that due to burgeoning energy demand growth, the Asia-Pacific region will require almost $1 trillion in investment in the power sector alone to 2035. The sheer scale of what's required necessitates policy frameworks and public spending that create the enabling environments for private sector investment in cleaner and more sustainable technologies. Public-private collaboration will be absolutely critical to developing these frameworks.