In today's fast-moving business environment, up-to-the-minute business information often makes the difference between being leading edge and being left behind.
The internet is a great source of current and historical business intelligence. Although the internet is considered by many to be primarily a sales tool for business, (internet transactions account for 0.5% of US retail sales in 2000), today, most of the workforce depends on it for research.
However, new web sites spring up faster than Environmental Protection Agency regulations, and searching through hundreds of web pages for specific data can be a daunting task.
To avoid searching and researching for often-needed data, you can bookmark well-established or older, thoroughly developed web pages as indispensable tools for finding comprehensive resources.
Where it is
One great source of oil, gas, and electric power information is found at the web site of the US Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration at www.eia.doe.gov. Processes, analyses, forecasts, and a wealth of other information on various energy industry groups can be found at "the gateway to statistics from over 100 US federal agencies."
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, www.ferc.fed.us, is a favorite web site for pipeline operators and service and supply companies. In addition to being a resource for information on key regulations and rule-makings, compilations of federal reports are available for downloading. The FERC web site also offers users the option to electronically file protests, comments on FERC filings or on environmental assessments and environmental impact statements, and replies to comments.
BP offers www.bp.com/worldenergy as a service to the financial and energy communities. In additional to worldwide oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear energy, and hydroelectricity statistics, an easy-to-read histograph depicting crude oil price changes (in US $/bbl) from 1861 to 1999 is included. Most data tables are available in Excel spreadsheet and PDF file downloads.
A similar type of information web site, as compiled by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries office in Austria, can be found at www.opec.org. Under a tab titled "publications" is found the Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR). The MOMR contains information on developments in the world economy, data on oil prices, supply and demand, crude and products stocks, and more.
Why it is
In addition to keeping up with industry trends, most energy companies find it crucial to keep up with federal and state laws that regulate business processes, from safety issues to sales transactions.
The US Department of the Interior offers a web site of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) at www.mms.gov. MMS is the federal agency that manages the nation's natural gas, oil, and other mineral resources on the US Outer Continental Shelf. The main page carries information on such current topics as royalty in-kind crude oil, the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, oil valuation, and safety standards. The MMS home page offers a comprehensive library of information on scientific and technical statistics, Federal Register notices, environmental compliance laws, regulations, and executive orders.
At the end of March, petroleum marketers should look for a timely offering from UOP LLC called ComplyBatch. ComplyBatch is a stand-alone software tool intended to assist gasoline blenders with operations to ensure that their products meet EPA specifications. To preview the software, a user is asked to register on the web site. To see facility-specific results, enter baseline data, with options, into the calculation page. When the Emissions tab is selected, ComplyBatch performs applicable compliance calculations and displays results from the Clean Air Act Baseline. A free trial version of ComplyBatch is available now at https://iservices.uop.com/complybatch.
And, thousands of researchers have turned to Oil & Gas Journal Online at www.ogjonline.com for top news stories, archived articles, surveys, statistics, books, research, products, and services in the oil and gas industry.
