Despite Iraq's Apr. 8 announcement of a 30-day suspension of oil exports and turmoil at Petroleos de Venezuela SA in Venezuela, the oil market has responded in a muted fashion, according to the International Energy Agency, because such events were already incorporated into a "geopolitical risk premium."
"You're scaring the hell out of me!" the company vice-president said. And he wasn't talking to a terrorist; he was conferring with a consultant who thoroughly knows terrorism and who must decide daily just how much of that information to impart to his clients to protect them-yet do it without scaring them too much.
I enjoyed the Editorial "Energy policy, expertise" in OGJ Apr. 8, 2002, p. 21. This is the information the general public needs to see to bolster the need for domestic exploration and production and support for the administration's energy policy.
The future of oil-supply security is manifest in present tumult. Embargo threats thunder around violence in Israel, lift prices of crude oil, and come to little. Political upheaval paralyzes Venezuela, meanwhile, and exports of crude oil and petroleum products cease.
The recent spurt in US gasoline prices cannot be blamed solely on rising crude oil prices. The other culprit is the current state of the US refining and products distribution infrastructure.
The new BusWorks 930MB Series input-output modules capture data from as many as four RTD temperature sensors or resistance input signals for communication over a Modbus network.
The US oil and natural gas industry takes pride in its longstanding security standards and crisis management plans for protecting property, assets, and stakeholders from natural disasters, accidents, or begrudged individuals.
Multinational oil and gas companies are scrambling to find ways to cope with worsening and evolving new levels of threats to the security of their expatriate workers.
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the US, press attention has focused on the international terrorist threat. That is understandable, but local grievances and security concerns are often as important, if not more so, for international oil and gas operations.
After a tumultuous weekend in which he briefly lost control of the country, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is back in power. But while the political firestorm may appear to be abating, the long-term implications of the failed coup for industry remain unclear, according to Wall Street analysts, US government officials, and academics.
Sens. Frank Murkowski (R-Alas.), Ted Stevens (R-Alas.), and John Breaux (D-La.) have introduced a long-anticipated amendment to a pending Senate energy bill Apr. 16 that would allow leasing on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
There's more to US energy policy than drilling in Alaska or expanding fuel ethanol production. But both topics have largely overshadowed the public's interest in other industry issues as the US Congress considers the most sweeping energy reform bill in a decade.
Conventional natural gas supplies will not be enough to meet the North American market's demand for gas over the next decade. In the coming years, demand will have to be met through all industry players working together to expand North America's gas network as well as exploring for gas in various frontier areas of the US and Canada.
Electronic procurement (e-procurement) will continue to play a leading role in gaining cost efficiencies and saving time within the oil and gas industry's exploration and production sector.
Yielding to prolonged political pressure, Unocal Corp. has agreed to cut the price of natural gas it sells to PTT PLC, the partially privatized Thai energy firm.
Substantial oil and gas resources can have a far-reaching impact on any nation and its citizens. Development of these hydrocarbons in a cost-effective, efficient, and environmentally sound manner can lead to a higher standard of living, foster strong economic growth and progress, provide enhanced employment opportunities, and significantly expand the country's use of advanced technologies.
The petroleum industry, historically, has drilled wells with steel pipe. Technology advances, however, have enabled engineers to design, build, and introduce a hybrid-drilling system that combines composite coiled-tubing technology with a hydraulic-workover unit.
Although commercial applications of composite coiled-tubing systems for drilling and well construction are limited, the work performed in test wells has yielded interesting results.
Incorporating gas heated reforming (GHR) technology into autothermal reforming (ATR)-based GTL processes offers combined benefits of significantly higher carbon efficiency and lower capital cost.
