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SPECIAL REPORT: Energy demand to grow slowly worldwide, stagnate in the US
US energy demand in 2008 will be nearly unchanged from last year. Weakness in the US economy, in addition to a global economic slowdown, will hold growth in check.
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SPECIAL REPORT: Smaller drilling gain due in US as Canada’s drop persists
Oil and gas drilling in the US will depend as much as ever on commodity price levels.
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COMMENT: Iraq takes licensing step, but E&P fiscal policy murky
The invitation extended early this month by Iraq’s Ministry of Oil to international oil companies (IOCs) to preregister by Jan. 31 for exploration and production licensing rounds has no doubt attracted much interest in the industry.
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Westwood: Big oil needs new business model
The fundamentals of population and economic growths are driving a worldwide demand for oil that has recently pushed crude prices to $100/bbl and have producers scrambling for the reserves to satisfy market needs, said John Westwood, managing director of the UK consultancy Douglas-Westwood Ltd.
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New UK energy bill calls for simpler regime
The UK’s new energy bill calls for a simpler regime for offshore gas supply infrastructure so energy companies can invest with greater clarity and with reduced costs and risks, the government said on Jan. 10.
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Argentina cuts local energy supply, bans exports
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has blamed global warming for current energy cuts and export controls her government is imposing following a recent heat wave.
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WATCHING THE WORLD: Brazil courts Cuba
Oil diplomacy is under way in Latin America. We recently speculated that Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez was wooing the Portuguese to spite the Brazilians.
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KazMunayGas increases Kashagan share, influence
Kazakhstan’s state-run KazMunayGas will increase its interest in the Kashagan offshore oil project to 16.81%, equal to the shares of the other majority shareholders, according to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sauat Mynbayev.
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Trinidad and Tobago bows out of PetroCaribe initiative
The government of Trinidad and Tobago declined to join PetroCaribe, the trade initiative established by Venezuela, to assist Caribbean community countries in meeting their energy requirements in the face of price increases on the global oil market.
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WATCHING GOVERNMENT: Economic cooling vs. global warming
It may be stating the obvious, but the essential Washington, DC, energy question now is the extent to which growing concern about the general US economy will divert political attention from global climate change.
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FERC issues final EIS for Broadwater Offshore LNG terminal
Broadwater Energy’s proposed offshore LNG project in Long Island Sound would have minimal environmental impacts under recommended mitigation measures, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concluded on Jan. 11.
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Tanker protection is stretching USCG thin, GAO warns
The US Coast Guard’s resources are being stretched thin as it assumes the lead role in protecting energy commodity tankers from possible terrorist attacks in or near US ports, the Government Accountability Office said Jan. 9.
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US study commission calls for more alternate fuel R&D
The US government should be ready to spend $200 million/year over 10 years for additional research and development of alternatives to petroleum-based motor fuels, a federal transportation policy advisory commission recommended.
