Table of Contents

International news for oil and gas professionals

US President Barack Obama said on Feb. 23 that the best weapon against rising gasoline prices is the comprehensive energy strategy he outlined in his State of the Union address, which is already producing results including more oil and gas production.

Daniel Yergin had covered a lot of territory when he arrived at the US Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 16.

Canadian provinces, like some US states, are forming hydraulic fracturing guidelines and regulations in an ongoing attempt to avoid controversy regarding groundwater and surface water safety.

More than $85 billion in new oil and gas taxes in US President Barack Obama's proposal to reform federal corporate tax rates reflect his administration's inconsistent attitude toward the industry, American Petroleum Institute Pres. Jack N. Gerard said.

PBF Energy Co. LLC's October 2011 start-up of a previously idled Delaware City, Del., refinery has helped the New England oil products market respond to closures of ConocoPhillips's Trainer refinery in September and Sunoco Inc.'s Marcus Hook facility in December, the US Energy Information Administration said.

Iraq's fourth bid round is scheduled for April 2012, as announced in May 2011.

Saskatchewan is estimated to have 45.6 billion bbl of conventional oil in place, and the Canadian province is benefiting from renewed plays in the Bakken and other tight oil and gas formations.

Oil and gas producers are in the infant stages of a new liquids-rich play in the South Florida basin that could revive the oil industry in rural-agricultural parts of South Florida.

Shale gas exploration and exploitation in China is still at an early stage.

Rising US production of unconventional oil and gas, alongside steadily growing Canadian oil sands shipments to US refiners, provides the US economy with the potential for a sustained renaissance in the production of refined petroleum products.

Although pundits and politicians repeatedly tell us US economic growth slowed in third and fourth quarters 2011, gross domestic product statistics from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis contradict these opinions.

One of the most vexing problems oil and gas operations face is the failure of equipment due to corrosion. One of the most common types is sulfidic corrosion in the presence of hydrocarbon condensate.

The value of a particular hold time during a hydrotest cannot be determined in terms of pipeline integrity because the consequences of holding cannot be measured, making any specified hold time of the maximum test pressure arbitrary.

Energy recovery and efficient scrubber technologies can help minimize energy loss on natural gas transmission systems.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMEP) and Martin Midstream Partners LP (MMP) will develop a multicommodity rail terminal in Pecos, Tex., through a new joint venture, Pecos Valley Producer Services LLC.