Many facts about offshore oil and gas development relate to the formulation of a knowledge-based, rational national energy policy and should be a part of the current debate on offshore drilling legislation.

The US Senate, by a 71-25 vote, passed legislation Aug. 1 to expand federal oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico.

When the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association issued its annual US Refining and Storage Capacity Report on July 26, it provided a reminder that the US refining industry is walking a tightrope.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused the biggest disruptions ever experienced by oil and operations in the Gulf of Mexico, said the US Department of Energy in its final 24-page report on the impact of the two storms in August and September of 2005.

The US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is increasing pressure on BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. to improve its operations on Alaska’s North Slope after the BP PLC subsidiary failed to meet deadlines to repair and clean leaking Prudhoe Bay Operating Area pipelines.

The US has made substantial progress in its efforts to help Central Asian nations bring their oil and gas resources to markets, a US Department of State official told a US House subcommittee on July 25.

Massive volumes of natural gas wasted annually in Russia’s gas sector and the lack of investments in developing new fields to offset depletion of key producing fields “will begin to affect Russia’s position as a secure and reliable supplier” unless structural and regulatory reforms are introduced swiftly, cautions an International Energy Agency study released at the close of the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg.

UK natural gas prices are likely to be lower than the levels experienced last winter despite declining production, uncertain import capacities, and limited storage, Cambridge Energy Research Associates said.

Tempura is popular these days, and if certain Japanese industrialists have their way, it could even upstage oil as the source of energy for cars.

Worldwide trade in condensates and ultralight crudes will remain strong through the middle of this decade, predicts a study by Poten & Partners, New York.

With nearly 450 offshore fields developed to date, offshore Europe is the world’s largest offshore oil and gas producing province and is responsible for some 24% of the global offshore total.

Researchers used multicriteria decision making to assess eight alternatives for managing drilling cuttings offshore.

Redevelopment recommendations for a mature oil field off Egypt relied on an integrated approach.

A study of two methods for removing H2S and CO2 from natural gas has concluded that an arrangement of methyl diethanolamine (MDEA) and diethanolamine (DEA) units and the order of their use affect the concentration of H2S in the acid-gas feed to the sulfur-recovery unit.

Effective optimization of natural gas pipeline energy costs over time should assume neither steady-state operation nor indefinite operation at near-capacity flow rates.