Regular Features
- OGJ Newsletter
- Letters
  - Another royalty review
    So the US Bureau of Land Management is planning to review federal royalty policies, comparing their return to that of other countries.
- Journally Speaking
  - Survey: Industry improving
    The oil and gas industry has many concerns about its future, particularly in light of recent events in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Equipment/Software/Literature
- Services/Suppliers
- Advertisers Index
- The Editor's Perspective
  - Past discussion of BOP problems is not scandalous
    A blow to credibility must not limit the oil and gas industry's ability to discuss technical problems.
- Market Journal
  - Storage capacity cuts crude price
    Tightening storage capacity at Cushing, Okla., pushed the front-month crude contract price down 1.7% in the New York market in mid-May.
General Interest
- Editorial: Need for regulation
  Supporters of nonfossil energy are using a deepwater blowout and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to advance their agendas.
- US oil, gas firms' 1Q earnings rebound from year-earlier loss
  The combined first-quarter 2010 earnings were vastly improved for a sample of US-based oil and gas producers and refiners.
- BP containing some oil being spilled in Gulf of Mexico
  BP PLC worked toward using a "top kill" to seal a deepwater blowout and stop an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico while workers also collected a growing share of the leaking oil.
- Lawsuit seeks to stop operations at BP's Atlantis platform
  A former BP PLC contractor and a Washington, DC, nonprofit group asked a US District Court in Houston to issue a temporary injunction that would compel federal officials to temporarily prohibit BP from operating its Atlantis platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Officials: Spill technologies unproven but informative
  Officials from President Barack Obama's administration conceded on May 18 that the combined government-industry response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill sometimes has to apply unproven technologies.
- Spill liability splits Senate; DOI, DHS seek BP position
  US senators continued to argue over the need to raise the $75 million liability limit under the 1990 federal Oil Pollution Act (OPA) as two key members of US President Barack Obama's cabinet sought assurance from BP PLC's chief executive officer that the company doesn't plan to rely on it.
- Watching Government: Congress goes after MMS
  Congress may feel helpless in trying to stop the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. But it's ready to go after the US Minerals Management Service.
- IPAA: Excessive liability limits will drive independents from gulf
  Independent oil and gas producers that have operated safely in the Gulf of Mexico for 40 years should not be pushed out by dramatically higher spill liability limits, Independent Petroleum Association of America Pres. Bruce H. Vincent said.
- Forum: Alberta oil sands 'source of strategic value'
  Alberta's oil sands represent not only a major North American source of energy and economic growth, but also an important laboratory for environmental management technologies, participants at a Washington forum agreed.
- US refinery chemical demand to top $7 billion in 2014
  Demand for chemicals used in US refineries will expand 5%/year to $7.1 billion in 2014.
- EU against a Gazprom-Naftohaz Ukrainy merger
  European Union Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger, who earlier disdained a proposal by Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, said Brussels and Kiev have agreed to intensify their discussions on energy.
- Watching The World: Oil diplomacy scores a victory
  The oil and gas industry is ready to profit from the end of a long-running maritime dispute between Guyana and Suriname, with numerous companies interested in the region.
- US court rejects bid to halt Shell's Alaskan offshore program
  The Ninth US Circuit Appeals Court rejected on May 13 a lawsuit by several environmental and other groups aimed at keeping Shell Offshore Inc. from drilling on its Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea leases off Alaska this summer.
- Oxy sees major growth in US shale liquids
  Occidental Petroleum Corp. said it derives more than 25% of its California production from shales and that its California shale development program could become the company's largest business unit within 10 years.
- Crosco National 801 drilling for Total E&P in Libya
  Crosco Integrated Drilling & Well Services Co. Ltd. has reported the ongoing and successful provision of drilling services for Total E&P Libye in Libya.
Exploration & Development
- Hydraulic fracturing liabilities suggest insurance coverage
  Hydraulic fracturing, used for decades to increase the production of oil and natural gas, has recently become the subject of heightened inquiry and debate.
Technology
- OGJ FOCUS: US agency advises of weld failures on new pipelines
  The US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued an advisory bulletin Mar. 18, 2010, to notify owners and operators of recently constructed large-diameter natural gas pipeline and hazardous liquid pipeline systems of the potential for girth weld failures due to welding quality issues.
- OGJ FOCUS: Proper pipeline valuation requires specialized appraisal
  The appraisal of pipelines is a niche industry, requiring specialized methods to properly determine valuation.
- Neural network estimates Poisson's ratio, Young's modulus
  A study compared various artifical intelligence techniques for determining Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus.
- Gas plant solves Hg problems with copper-sulfate absorbent
  Operators at Saudi Aramco's Berri gas plant successfully resolved problems of high mercury content in the plant's feed gas by replacing activated carbon material with copper-sulfide mercury absorbent.