Table of ContentsRegular FeaturesIEA, OPEC cut 2009 oil market demand, supply forecastsThe International Energy Agency and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have revised their forecasts for 2009 oil demand and supply in their latest monthly oil market reports.
LettersDon’t hike ethanol capI am strongly opposed to allowing even more ethanol in automotive gasoline for several sound technical reasons (OGJ Online, Mar.9, 2009):
Journally SpeakingMaking a differenceMalaria kills an African child every 30 sec and more than 1 million people a year, said Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil Corp., as he explained on “World Malaria Day” last April how the company is fighting the preventable disease.
Equip/Software/LitServices/SuppliersEditor's PerspectiveLand-grab defeat doesn’t herald a friendly CongressDefeat by the US House of a major lock-up of federal land provides a welcome ray of hope—but a flickering one.
Market JournalOPEC expects lower oil demandA few days before its Mar. 15 meeting in Vienna, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reduced its latest forecast of 2009 world crude demand by 400,000 b/d for a total loss of 1.01 million b/d to 84.6 million b/d.
General InterestEditorial: Ethanol’s new rescue cryEvery time fuel ethanol blows off its economic moorings, as state-sponsored energy always does, Congress obliges with new support.
Saudi Arabia, UAE promote energy from sun and windIt would seem unlikely that the Persian Gulf region, so commercially dependent on fossil fuel production and exportation, would lead the world’s search for the 21st Century’s energy source.
OPEC aims at full compliance with existing quotaThe Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, noting signs of market strengthening, agreed in a Mar. 15 meeting in Vienna to seek full compliance with a quota cut announced in December.
OPEC oil exports at 5-year low, analyst saysSeaborne oil exports of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, excluding Angola and Ecuador, will fall to a 5-year low in the four weeks to Mar. 28, according to analyst Oil Movements.
Russia declines OPEC membership; offers alternativeRussia has proposed sending a permanent envoy to the Secretariat of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in an effort to coordinate policies, again declining membership in the group.
Watching The World: Algeria deserves a tax breakAlgeria’s energy minister Chakib Khelil recently urged gas-consuming nations to rethink their tax policies if they are to remove barriers and encourage imports (OGJ, Mar.
Worldwide oil, natural gas deal value plungesThe total transaction value for worldwide upstream corporate and asset deals plunged to $104 billion in 2008 compared with an annual average of nearly $160 billion during 2005-07, consultants said in an annual report.
MMS, BLM must clarify lease policies, acting IG saysFederal oil and gas leasing programs could do more to encourage leaseholders to move more aggressively toward production, the US Department of the Interior’s acting inspector general told a congressional subcommittee on Mar. 17.
MMS Lease Sale 208 attracts $703 million in high bidsApparent high bids totaling just over $703 million were offered for 348 tracts in the central Gulf of Mexico at Lease Sale 208, reported the US Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service Mar. 18 in New Orleans.
Watching Government: Independents begin long haulThe opportunity was too tempting to resist.
Ethanol supporters petition EPA to raise gasoline blend level limitsEthanol supporters petitioned the US Environmental Protection Agency to raise the limit on the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline to 15% from 10%.
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING—1: Natural fractures influence shear stimulation directionHydraulic fracturing in the presence of natural fractures causes a complex network of fractures to form because of shear and tensile failure.
Exploration & DevelopmentNew tool determines reserves of mature oil and gas fieldsThere are many reasons—economic, preaudits, strategic planning for enhanced recovery, among others—that call for the size or ultimate reserves of an oil or gas field to be estimated.
ProcessingLooming Mideast olefin production may—or may not—spell oversupplyWith an abundance of cheap feedstock, the Middle East is poised to become one of the world’s largest exporters of petrochemicals, targeting markets in Europe and Asia.
TransportationShell completes testing of record-setting tie-in planShell’s tie-in of the Perdido oil pipeline in the US Gulf of Mexico is the deepest tie-in ever preformed to an already operating system (5,000 ft).
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