New controllers available to the industry are rugged, field-mountable platforms intended for those process applications that might have previously used programmable logic controllers.
Sarbanes-Oxley concerns dominate US corporate governance issues
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed by the US Congress last year to deter corporate fraud in financial reporting with the threat of stiffer penalties, now dominates discussion of corporate governance in the US.
A group of major international banks led by ABN Amro Bank NV, Amsterdam; Barclays PLC, London; Citigroup Inc., New York; and WestLB AG, Düsseldorf, has disclosed plans to follow environmental policies of the International Finance Corp., the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, in their project lending around the world.
Liability insurance a growing concern for energy company directors, officers
New governance issues and criminal penalties under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are increasing the need for liability insurance among corporate directors and officers at a time when business scandals are driving up costs and reducing coverage of such policies.
The US soon will begin deploying airborne snipers to prevent further acts of sabotage that already have stopped the flow of oil from Iraq's northern fields to its export terminal at the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
Multinational oil companies and oil service firms expect the US Congress to play an increasing role in shaping the pace and scope of Iraq's oil sector reconstruction and eventual renaissance.
The World Bank hopes that by tying transparency guidelines into its financing of the $3.7 billon Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline project it will mean other resource-rich developing nations will follow Chad's example and accept public accountability standards.
As rumors continue to circulate concerning a possible takeover of Russia's YukosSibneft, analysts say ExxonMobil Corp. is better positioned than ChevronTexaco Corp. to consummate such a massive financial transaction.
The Taranaki basin1 2 produces from several oil and gas fields, including the 3,450 bcf/180 million bbl Maui field that has been the backbone of New Zealand petroleum production for 30 years.
EnCana Corp., Calgary, said it acquired 500,000 net acres in the Alberta-British Columbia foothills in a play from which it expects to recover more than 4 tcf of gas.
Operators can reduce costs and risks involved in completing wells by using pressure-pulse communication, absolute well pressure, or a hydromechanical valve to set wellbore packers.
In its drilling operations worldwide, Noble Corp. has reduced reportable hand and finger injuries resulting from material-handling incidents among rig employees by two thirds over a three-year period.
A well-planned and executed test run of existing equipment followed by a distillation fundamentals review can yield cost-effective production increases.
