The US refining sector's profit margins and stock prices are apt to see downward pressure in early 2005 because of strong supply levels and lower demand growth, said investment banker Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Inc., Arlington, Va.
More fun with language
This column, which has been called Journally Speaking since the late Henry Ralph invented it in 1948, provokes a great range of response from readers.
Quadra Resources Corp., Calgary, is to drill a second well on the Becerril structure in the Cesar basin, where it drilled an indicated gas discovery in late 2003.
Among all the arguments about the war in Iraq, one of the most divisive rages over this question: Do the ouster of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and ensuing combat constitute part of the war against terrorism or a distraction from it?
With markets faced by both rising costs and escalating demand for natural gas, today's unconventional gas resources "cannot remain unconventional," said Raymond C. Pilcher, president of Raven Ridge Resources Inc., Grand Junction, Colo., at a recent 2-day energy conference in Denver.
Indonesia's LNG industry, spared damage in the devastating Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami that hit North Sumatra and Aceh, has resumed shipments to Japan and South Korea after making a deal with ExxonMobil Corp. to secure natural gas supplies for local fertilizer producers.
Oil and gas operations in Southeast Asia were remarkably unscathed by the tsunamis that hit 11 countries, killing an estimated 150,000 people, following an earthquake Dec. 26.
The merger of OAO Gazprom and OAO Rosneft is expected to be finalized early this year, and the assets of OAO Yukos unit Yuganskneftegas will not be involved in the initial consolidation as was earlier reported, a Russian official said.
Fundamentals look strong for US-based, integrated oil and gas companies at the start of 2005, although the firms are unlikely to achieve the record earnings and refining margins of 2004.
Carbon dioxide capture and underground storage could constitute as much as half of the global emissions reduction by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency in the book CO2 Capture and Storage.
Pakistan National Shipping Corp. (PNSC) has purchased a fourth Aframax-class oil tanker named M.T. Lalazar for $13.5 million. The 113,881 dwt vessel is the largest ever to join Pakistan's fleet, PNSC officials said.
When Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM), was reelected chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee for the 109th Congress on Jan. 4, the first issue he mentioned was oil and gas leasing of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain.
Southwestern Energy Co., Houston, plans to increase the outlay for its emerging low permeability Mississippian Fayetteville shale play in the Arkoma basin as part of a 24% increase in its 2005 capital budget to $352.7 million.
Gaither Petroleum Corp., private Houston independent, and Eurogas Corp., Calgary, acquired 350 sq km of 3D seismic data on the Sfax Permit in the Gulf of Gabes northwest of giant Ashtart oil field off Tunisia.
Petroleum Authority of Mongolia has signed an exploration contract with Storm Cat Energy Corp., Calgary, to assess coalbed methane potential near Ulaanbaatar.
A simulation with a compositional model, composed of a graphical front end and readily available commercial simulator software, improved the optimization of gas lift in oil wells when compared with commercial software that rely on black oil models.
A case study determined that a refinery can potentially recover approximately 1,500 b/d or $2.6 million/year of additional propane in the saturate gas plant.
The new regulatory direction being taken by the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) in the Research and Special Programs Administration of the US Department of Transportation has important implications for the inspections process, pipeline operators, and the OPS.
