Regular Features
- OGJ Newsletter
  - OGJ Newsletter
    A recent International Energy Agency forecast of Russia's crude oil production is "unjustifiably optimistic," argued a report from Energy Security Analysis Inc. (ESAI), Boston.
- Journally Speaking
  - A world without plastics?
    What would this past holiday gift-giving season be without plastics?
- Equip/Software/Lit
  - Equipment/Software/Literature
    A new in-line pipeline inspection tool can help reduce pigging costs by as much as 50% while improving data quality.
- Editor's Perspective
  - Oil supply not what's threatened by Yukos drama
    While there's plenty to regret in Russia's expropriation of core OAO Yukos assets, the supposed threat to security of US oil supply deserves far less worry than it receives.
- Market Journal
  - 2004 crude prices most volatile
    For those who suspect that crude prices were unusually volatile in 2004, Paul Horsnell of Barclays Capital Inc., London, has a simple explanation: they were.
General Interest
- Editorial - New energy approach
  Attention to US energy policy will revive in 2005 after an impressive string of failures by Congress to enact comprehensive energy legislation.
- ExxonMobil president sees long-term energy changes
  Long-term changes are under way in global energy market that will affect all Americans and the US energy industry of the future, said Rex W. Tillerson, president of ExxonMobil Corp.
- Rosneft to buy purchaser of core Yukos unit
  A surprise bidder calling itself Baikal Finance Group (BFG) bought nearly 77% of the Yuganskneftegas unit of OAO Yukos for $9.37 billion at an auction Dec. 19, prompting some analysts to suggest Baikal is linked to state-owned Gazprom.
- Sandia study assesses hazards of LNG transport
  Damage from an accidental or intentional breach of an LNG carrier would extend as far as 1,600 m from the damaged ship for a large spill but pose little threat beyond that, says a new federal study.
- IEA sees potential in hydrogen, fuel-cell technologies
  Although commercial maturity and significant market penetration remain decades away, hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies represent high-potential options for a secure energy future with diminished emissions of carbon dioxide.
- Point of View: 'Disconnect' seen in industry's use of technology
  With the perspective of a geophysicist who has worked as both an operator and service provider, Steven Tobias sees a troubling "disconnect" in the upstream oil and gas business.
Special Report
- Market surprise, technical advance expected in 2005
  A year of market surprise and technical advance lies ahead for the oil and gas industry.
Exploration & Development
- New interpretation reveals potential in onshore Algoa basin, South Africa
  The Algoa basin is one of several Mesozoic sedimentary basins located along the southeastern margin of South Africa.
Drilling & Production
- Geosteering horizontal wells enhances production in Middle East field
  Joint Operations, Saudi Arabian Texaco-Kuwait Oil Co., used geosteering to drill two wells in the South Umm Gudair (SUG) field for the first time in 2004.
- Study tabulates idle Gulf of Mexico structures
  A study of idle oil and gas structures in the Gulf of Mexico has found that at yearend 2003, the gulf had 2,175 active structures, 1,227 idle structures, and 505 auxiliary structures.
Processing
- US refiners continue to process crudes with lower gravity, higher sulfur
  The gravities of crude oils processed in US refineries have slowed from a previously rapid decline in quality to a decrease of 0.10° API/year during 1994-2003.
- Nelson-Farrar monthly cost indexes
  Nelson-farrar cost indexes
- Nelson-Farrar Quarterly Costimating: How refinery fuel indexes have varied
  How refinery fuel indexes have varied
Transportation
- China wants more pipelines for improved oil import security
  Construction is under way on the second part of the 1,000-km (621-mile) Sino-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline (Atasu, Kazakhstan, to Alataw Shankou, China).
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