Oil & Gas Journal Articles, May 2009

Table of Contents

Regular Features

Equipment/Software/Literature

The Steel-Trak Model 640S immersible thermal mass flowmeter now comes in a special high-temperature option capable of trouble-free operation in process temperatures as high as 750° F.

Journally Speaking

Learning languages

The names of oil and gas fields offer a way for Anglophones to acquire some non-English vocabulary.

Editor's Perspective

Shock in Canada: Alberta not worst on environment

In Canada, calling Alberta green—even brownish green—can cause a ruckus.

Market Journal

Tax hike sends wrong signal

The push by consumer nations for lower oil prices to help spark an economic recovery may be undermined when crude-producing nations see those governments take advantage of oil price reductions to ratchet up taxes on refined products, particularly in Europe.

General Interest

Editorial: Dollars and energy

Because the US government plans to spend heavily on energy over the next decade, taxpayers have reason to wonder what they’ll get for their money.

Oil linked to US move toward thaw with Cuba

A proposal to allow work by US oil and gas companies off Cuba appears in a broad set of recommendations made before President Barack Obama on Apr. 13 eased travel and financial restrictions on the island nation.

COMMENT: Oil work can be part of US-Cuban rapprochement

Two thirds of Cuba’s petroleum demand currently relies on imports, and Venezuela is the single source of these imports under heavily subsidized payment terms.

Cavaney: Cap-and-trade proposal would hit refiners hard

Refiners will be hit harder than other US manufacturers under proposed cap-and-trade legislation, a ConocoPhillips official told the US House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Watching Government: Gingrich is a late, eloquent addition

He was not originally scheduled to testify. Then the US House Energy and Commerce Committee announced former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) would follow former Vice-President Al Gore (D) and former US Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) during the third full day of hearings Apr. 24 on proposed climate change legislation.

Changes likely as cap-and-trade legislation moves through US House

US House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) planned to mark up cap-and-trade legislation the week of May 11 when he and Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), the chairman of the committee’s Energy and Environment Subcommittee, introduced their draft proposal on Mar. 31.

EPA asked to set new drillsite discharge standards

Activist organizations are urging the US Environmental Protection Agency to expand regulation of wastewater discharges from the oil and gas drilling industry to cover a host of exploration, stimulation, and extraction activities, according to Water Policy Report.

LNG supply, fuel competition pose major concerns in US

How US markets will accommodate the impending flood of LNG continues to puzzle industry observers.

Watching The World: Argentina, UK eye Falklands oil

The Falkland Islands are in the news again, a matter of interest to the oil and gas industry given the reserves under the region’s waters, estimated at 18 billion bbl.

Exploration & Development

Afghanistan blocks offer unproduced discoveries

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines is launching a bid round of three blocks in the lightly explored Afghan-Tajik and Amu Darya basins.

Eagle Ford viewed among top US shale gas plays

Formation characteristics from two of its first five wells indicate that the Cretaceous Eagle Ford shale in LaSalle and McMullen counties of South Texas “is one of the highest quality shale reservoirs discovered in the US,” said Petrohawk Energy Corp., Houston.

Peru inks 13 exploration agreements with IOCs

Peru’s state-owned Perupetro, recovering from earlier scandals connected with the awarding of exploration licenses, has signed 13 new contracts valued at $650 million with international oil companies.

Drilling & Production

Special Report: ASSET OPTIMIZATION—1: Real-time data, models optimize complex production off Trinidad

BP Trinidad & Tobago (BPTT) has leveraged real-time data with engineering models to manage a complex gas offshore production scheme.

Special Report: Su Tu Vang project overcomes tough construction environment

The successful Su Tu Vang (Golden Lion) project off Vietnam demonstrates that even during periods of tough industry conditions companies can bring on stream well planned and properly scoped projects safely and efficiently.

Processing

US propane inventories—FOURTH QUARTER 2008–FIRST QUARTER 2009: Economic turmoil pushes propane supply to season-ending surplus

Weather is always an important influence on propane supply-demand trends during the winter heating season, but the financial crisis and ensuing economic recession had substantial and overriding impact on supply-demand trends during winter 2008-09.

Transportation

Special Report: One-call system addresses offshore damage prevention

A new Gulf of Mexico offshore damage prevention and notification “one-call” system, operating in conjunction with existing onshore systems, offers a cost-effective means of preventing damage to offshore infrastructure.

This Issue

Volume 107
Issue 17
May 2009
 

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