Oil & Gas Journal Articles, January 2010

Table of Contents

Regular Features

Letters

Climate and plague

St. Augustine said it best: "Faith is to believe what we cannot see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe," in this particular case, the deleterious effects of man-made carbon dioxide emissions.

Journally Speaking

Writing significantly

As writers, journalists become products of accumulated correction.

The Editor's Perspective

Authors say crisis forces remain at work on oil price

If you think stability has returned to the oil market, two Rice University researchers have a message that should slosh your coffee: The crisis isn't over.

Market Journal

Cold weather saps distillates surplus

Colder weather across much of the northern hemisphere in late December and early January accelerated the burn-off of a global distillate fuel surplus.

General Interest

Editorial: Another leasing setback

The second-worst part of land management under US Interior Sec. Ken Salazar is duplicity. The worst part is a systematic slowdown in development of oil and gas resources.

Special Report: US energy demand set for slim expansion in 2010

Moderate economic growth will spur a small recovery in US energy demand this year.

Special Report: Marginally higher drilling in view in US, Canada

The roller coaster drilling year of 2009 gives way to somewhat brighter prospects in the US and Canada in 2010.

EIA: World economic recovery to restore oil demand growth

Global oil demand declined a second consecutive year in 2009 for the first time since 1983, the US Energy Information Administration said.

Salazar draws industry heat with oil, gas leasing reform

US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced onshore federal oil and gas leasing reform which he said would provide producers greater certainty but which oil and gas groups argued would create delays.

Interior Sec. Salazar blasted for 'kings of the world' statement

An oil state US House Democrat strongly criticized Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for his characterizations of the oil and gas industry during a teleconference last week with reporters.

Watching Government: Fuel ethanol limits

At first glance, the Jan. 6 letter to three key federal energy and environment policymakers from 14 trade associations about possible early approval of a higher ethanol content in motor fuels might have seemed routine.

EPA proposes strictest federal smog standards yet

The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed the strictest federal standards yet for ground-level ozone, commonly known as smog.

Indonesia unveils long-term oil, gas plan

Indonesia unveiled a long-term oil and gas management plan to attract $32 billion in investments for oil and gas facilities in 2010-14.

Watching The World: Reprise in Madagascar

A year ago, we were watching Madagascar's oil and gas industry, and the signs were not promising as demonstrators rampaged in the streets and set fire to an oil depot (OGJ, Feb. 2, 2009, p. 34).

US biofuels policies flawed, Baker Institute study finds

US policymakers need to consider the unintended consequences of federal subsidies and tariffs that go to domestic ethanol producers, concluded a study from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Total inaugurates CCS pilot in southwest France

Total Exploration & Production France on Jan. 11 inaugurated a carbon capture, transportation, and storage pilot project at the Lacq natural gas processing plant and industrial complex in southwestern France.

COMPANY NEWS: Total, Chesapeake announce Barnett shale joint venture

Chesapeake Energy Corp. announced a $2.25 billion joint venture agreement with Total E&P USA Inc. in which Total will acquire a 25% interest in Chesapeake's upstream Barnett shale assets.

Exploration & Development

PDVSA, Eni to form JVs to develop, refine Orinoco oil

Venezuela's Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) and Italy's Eni SPA agreed to establish two joint ventures to produce and refine oil from the Junin 5 block in the Orinoco belt.

Lodgepole Scallion zone yields oil in North Dakota

Continental Resources Inc., Enid, Okla., said an initial test of a horizontally drilled section of Scallion limestone in west-central North Dakota produced at an uneconomic 7-day rate of 65 b/d of oil and 37 Mcfd of associated gas and plans no further drilling at present.

Technology

Refrigeration provides economic process for recovering NGL from CO2-EOR recycle gas

Removing and selling NGL from the produced gas stream is one on the ways CO<sub>2</sub> enhanced oil recovery projects can improve their economics.

GUIDE TO WORLD CRUDES: Statoil publishes Aasgard Blend assay

Statoil late last year published an assay of its Aasgard Blend, a commingling of production from Smorbukk, Smorbukk South, Midgard, Mikkel, Kristin, Yttergryta, and Tyrihans fields in the Norwegian Sea.

In-line EMAT expands IM capabilities

Electromagnetic transducer technology in-line inspections are sufficiently sensitive to detect crack-like features as part of pipeline integrity management.

This Issue

Volume 108
Issue 2
January 2010
 

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