Greg Upton

Interim Executive Director & Associate Research Professor

Dr. Upton's research interests are at the intersection of energy and environmental economics.

Contact

Areas of Expertise

Energy Economics
Environmental Economics
Labor Economics

Biography

Dr. Greg Upton is Executive Director & Associate Research Professor at the Louisiana State University Center for Energy Studies. His research interests are at the intersection of energy and environmental economics. He has contributed to over 40 publications and has presented research on these topics to over 200 industry, governmental and academic audiences, including testifying in committees of both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature and a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is regularly interviewed on live talk radio and other news outlets and has been quoted or cited over 250 times in local and national media including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, and NPR. He has taught classes in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, the Department of Economics, and Environmental Sciences at LSU. He is the President-Elect for the United States Association for Energy Economics (USAEE), a member of the University Advisory Board to the Center for Legislative Energy & Environmental Research (CLEER) and an appointee to the National Petroleum Council (NPC). He is a legislatively appointed member of the Clean Hydrogen Task Force created by House Concurrent Resolution 64 of the 2024 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature as well as the Task Force on Local Impacts of Carbon Capture and Sequestration created by Senate Resolution 179 of the 2023 Regular Special Session of the Louisiana Legislature. He is part of the Baton Rouge Business Report Forty Under 40 class of 2024.

Research Focus

Energy Markets & Environmental Economics

Dr. Upton’s research centers on energy and environmental economics, with emphasis on oil- and gas-market dynamics, energy transition, and their fiscal impacts on Louisiana. He applies econometric modeling, market forecasting, and policy analysis at LSU’s Center for Energy Studies to guide industry strategy and inform state and federal policymakers.

Spotlight

2 min

War in Iran: Impact on Oil Prices

As global markets respond to escalating tensions in Iran, energy prices are once again at the center of international concern. For insight into what this conflict could mean for oil markets, consumers and the broader economy, media can turn to Greg Upton, executive director and associate research professor at the LSU Center for Energy Studies. An expert at the intersection of energy and environmental economics, Upton studies how geopolitical disruptions, supply constraints and policy decisions influence oil prices and downstream economic impacts. As instability in the Middle East threatens global supply chains, he can provide context on potential price volatility, implications for Louisiana’s energy sector and what higher crude prices may mean for gasoline costs and inflation in the United States. Upton has contributed to more than 40 academic publications and has presented his research to over 200 industry, government and academic audiences. He has testified before committees in both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature and a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives. A frequent voice in national and local media, Upton has been quoted or cited more than 250 times, including by the The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today and NPR. In addition to his research, Upton teaches in LSU’s MBA program and in the Department of Economics and Environmental Sciences, helping prepare the next generation of leaders to navigate complex energy and environmental challenges. For timely, data-driven analysis on the impact of oil price fluctuations amid the ongoing conflict in Iran, Dr. Greg Upton is available for interviews and expert commentary.

Greg Upton

1 min

LSU Expert Available: Lowest Gas Prices in Years

Greg Upton, an LSU expert in energy economics, is available for media interviews on why gas prices have fallen to their lowest levels in years.

Greg Upton

2 min

LSU Launches Energy Institute

This strategic move aligns with LSU’s Scholarship First Agenda, where energy is one of five core focus areas for research critical to the future of Louisiana and the nation. It also builds on the successes of LSU’s Institute for Energy Innovation, Center for Energy Studies, Louisiana Geological Survey, and the LSU-led FUEL team while assuming a leadership role in how the university engages with its partners—industry, communities, donors, and state and federal agencies—through collaboration and service. “As Louisiana’s flagship research university, LSU is committed to organizing our efforts in ways that maximize impact and reflect institutional priorities,” said Robert Twilley, LSU vice president of research and economic development. “The LSU Energy Institute will provide a platform for faculty across multiple colleges and disciplines to collaborate on solutions to Louisiana’s most pressing energy and environmental challenges.” The LSU Energy Institute will unify and expand several longstanding programs, chiefly the Center for Energy Studies, the Louisiana Geological Survey, and a range of externally funded initiatives, including cutting-edge energy research catalyzed by the LSU Institute for Energy Innovation through a dedicated $25 million investment from Shell. This results-focused realignment reflects a broader effort across LSU to improve coordination between strategic research projects and teams with increased support from research centers, institutes, and core facilities. As LSU’s flagship unit in the energy domain, the Energy Institute will enhance the university’s ability to align interdisciplinary research and policy with Louisiana’s energy economy and environmental stewardship goals. “The reorganization of LSU energy efforts into this institute reflects both a long-standing legacy of service and a renewed vision for the future of energy research in Louisiana. It’s about building on 40 years of trusted work while expanding our capacity to innovate, support decisionmakers, and serve the people of our state, said Greg Upton, interim director of the LSU Energy Institute and executive director of the LSU Center for Energy Studies. The LSU Energy Institute will serve as a central hub for faculty, students, industry, and public agencies working at the intersection of energy technology, resource economics, environmental protection, and policy. The integration of the Louisiana Geological Survey will further reinforce the university’s role in providing critical data and analysis to support state planning and hazard assessment. The institute will also continue to seed competitive, high-quality research focused on energy systems resilience, carbon management, and economic opportunity. These investments reflect LSU’s broader vision to translate research into impact and fuel new jobs and technologies to power Louisiana’s future. Original article posted here. 

Greg Upton

Education

Louisiana State University

B.S.

Economics

2010

Louisiana State University

M.A.

Economics

2012

Louisiana State University

Ph.D.

Economics

2014

Accomplishments

Tiger Twelve Award

2010

Media Appearances

Carbon capture, solar, and the future of Louisiana energy

WWL Radio  radio

2025-09-17

There’s a carbon capture project moving forward in Louisiana while a number of solar projects are getting canceled. We’ll break down what’s going on with our energy industry with Greg Upton, Director of LSU's Center for Energy Studies

View More

President Trump’s elimination of wind and solar power tax credits to potentially affect electricity prices in Louisiana and nationwide

Louisiana Radio Network  radio

2025-07-09

President Trump’s budget bill phases out wind and solar power tax credits created during the Biden Administration. These tax credits help energy companies pay for projects that produce solar and wind energy. Director of LSU’s Center for Energy Studies, Doctor Greg Upton, says without this federal subsidy, ratepayers will pick up more of the cost, but the impact is several years away.

View More

Oil and gas experts on how geopolitical conflicts can impact prices at the pump

WAFB 9  tv

2025-06-26

Last Friday when I looked at the data, what it was, what the markets were saying was while the price was a little bit higher, markets were also in what we call backwardation, and what that means is that markets were anticipating the price was actually going to go down back to about that $65-67 a barrel by the end of the year," Dr. Greg Upton, Executive Director of the LSU Center for Energy Studies, said.

View More

Show All +

Articles

Are energy endowed countries responsible for conditional convergence?

The Energy Journal

2022

We test for economic convergence in GDP per capita and consumption per capita within two distinct sets of countries: those with significant (and plausibly exogenous) fossil fuel (FF) endowments and those without such endowments. Among countries with FF endowments, we find evidence of both absolute and conditional convergence across both macroeconomic dimensions, as indicated by standard P- and o-convergence tests. By contrast, we do not find robust evidence of convergence among countries without FF endowments. This pattern—convergence among FF-endowed and non-convergence among non-endowed countries—is robust to changes in the sample period, controlling for potential resource curse effects, and is largely consistent across growth components. We discuss the implications for economic development and comment on its implications for global decarbonization policies.

View more

Financial liabilities and environmental implications of unplugged wells for the Gulf of Mexico and coastal waters

Nature Energy

2023

Plugging and abandoning (P&Aing) wells is a policy priority because unplugged wells present potential financial and environmental risks to the public. Offshore wells, compared with land wells, generally produce more, cost more to P&A and present different environmental risks. Here we estimate that the cost to P&A all 14,000 unplugged, non-producing wells in US Gulf of Mexico offshore waters, inland waters and wetlands is US$30 billion. Wells in shallower waters closer to shore make up 90% of inactive wells but only 25% of total P&A costs. They also present larger environmental risks. Prior owners of wells in federal waters (deeper and farther from shore) can be held liable for P&A costs if the current owner does not P&A them. We find that 88% of outstanding P&A liability in federal waters is associated with wells currently or formerly owned by one of the large, financially stable ‘supermajor’ companies.

View more

Oil & gas induced economic fluctuations and self-employment

Labour Economics

2023

This paper exploits oil and gas activity generated by recent technological advancements to understand the effect of localized boom and busts on self-employment. We find a positive contemporaneous impact on self-employment, mainly driven by self-employment in non-mining industries. We also find that self-employment is pro-cyclical, meaning that self-employment increases during oil and gas booms and contracts during the bust. Finally, results suggest that self-employment explains an economically meaningful share of the employment adjustment; specifically we estimate that about 11% of the employment adjustment can be explained by self-employed workers, a group which makes up about 9% of total employment.

View more

Show All +

Affiliations

  • American Economic Association (AEA)
  • International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE)
  • U.S. Association for Energy Economics (USAEE)
  • Southern Economic Association (SEA)

Research Grants

Potential for Clean Hydrogen Demand in Louisiana

Greater New Orleans Development Foundation (GNODF)

2024

Identifying Exception Events Affecting PM Concentrations in the Baton Rouge Area

ExxonMobil

2024

Economic Implications Related to the Buildout of the Offshore Wind Energy Industry Across the United States

Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES)

2024

Social