Table of ContentsRegular FeaturesLettersCO2 challenge urgedA strong legal challenge needs to be made to the EPA finding that CO2 is harmful.
Journally SpeakingShaping the pipeline futureThe current US energy policy debate includes at least two areas of great interest to pipeliners: biofuels and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS).
Editor's PerspectiveChief executives boost UN program on corruptionAn important United Nations fight against corruption received a boost this month from the chief executives of 24 international companies.
Market JournalA May rally in energy pricesEnergy prices rallied in early May with natural gas climbing above $4/MMbtu and crude at one point topping $58/bbl–a new high for the year–as traders shrugged off bearish inventory reports and focused instead on indications of a possible economic turnaround.
General InterestEditorial: Lessons from biofuelsAs markets balk, the US government recommits itself to the care and feeding of renewable fuels.
Uruguay attracts interest in its first licensing roundUruguay, with no current oil and gas production, has completed the qualification step of its first offshore bid round, offering 11 continental shelf blocks that drew interest from six operators.
Venezuela’s Chavez nationalizes oil services firmsVenezuelan President Hugo Chavez, attempting to bolster his socialist spending programs, has nationalized nearly 40 domestic and international oil services companies operating in his country, with another 20 still under threat.
Watching The World: Oil diplomacy at work in AsiaThe Sultanate of Brunei has long had a certain cache among members of the international oil and gas industry.
Baghdad approves Kurdish exports; contracts thought ‘illegal’The Iraqi government, despite recently approving the export of oil from Kurdistan, still considers contracts signed between the Kurdistan Regional Government and international oil companies illegal.
OTC: Shtokman Phase 1 development tenders due outShtokman Development AG plans to send out soon tenders for developing the giant Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea, off Russia’s north coast, said Philippe Rondy, Total SA’s Shtokman planning manager. OTC: Nigeria changes gas-flaring deadlineNigeria is considering its new zero gas flaring target as 2011, which is 3 years later than its previous deadline of Dec. 31, 2008.
OTC: Palau lays foundation for first licensing roundThe tiny island nation of Palau is laying the foundations to offer its first licensing round with the assistance of the World Bank.
Obama keeps new oil, gas taxes in final 2010 budgetUS President Barack H. Obama released his final fiscal 2010 federal budget on May 7.
EPA proposes renewable fuels regulations for 2010The US Environmental Protection Agency issued proposed new renewable fuels regulations for 2010 and beyond on May 5 as part of a broader Obama administration initiative.
Watching Government: Seasoned hand on Alaska gas lineDeputy US Transportation Secretary Thomas J. Barrett will join the office coordinating federal agencies’ responses to expedite construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the Lower 48 as its deputy coordinator on May 26.
Aramco to stick with investment program, production levelsSaudi Arabia’s state oil company is feeling the impact of lower prices, but does not plan to change its spending plans or production levels, its chief executive officer said on May 6.
FACTS: 2009-10 LNG demand flat; supplies to glut marketsThe 2009 LNG outlook is grim, according to a recently published review of global LNG by FACTS Global Energy, Singapore.
Exploration & DevelopmentBakken, Barnett, Manitoba fuel EOG’s liquids bingeEOG Resources Inc., Houston, is emphasizing North American liquids and natural gas plays as it develops and explores unconventional and conventional plays in US and Canadian basins.
Indonesia awards blocks, plans new bidding roundTo boost its declining production, Indonesia has awarded exploration rights for 11 new oil and gas blocks and is already mapping out its next bid round.
Drilling & ProductionDRILLING MARKET FOCUS: US rig count slumps more rapidly than industry expectedThe US rig count fell much more rapidly than most in the oil and gas drilling industry had forecast, and industry executives say they are uncertain when drilling activity might recover.
Biocides control Barnett shale fracturing fluid contaminationA team, composed of the operator and service company staff, tested various biocides to determine the best chemical for controlling bacteria in fluids used for fracturing Barnett shales in the Fort Worth basin of Texas.
ProcessingSpecial Report: LIQUIDS ENTRAINMENT–1: Changing operating conditions lead to compressor damageThis is the first of three articles that describe BP’s experience with reciprocating compressor damage from liquids intrusion at two facilities, in Oklahoma and Alaska.
TransportationStudy sets parameters for using direct assessment on networksDry gas internal corrosion direct assessment (DG-ICDA) can be an effective means of evaluating networks of pipe for internal corrosion.
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