ENTER: Canada vs Saudi Geopolitics of Good Oil

An Oil Ad Vexes the Saudis

By IAN AUSTEN

OTTAWA — Environmental concerns over Canada’s oil sands have driven a debate over the process that has lasted for years. Now, some in Canada are trying to change the conversation. Advocates of oil sand production are arguing that the human rights record of Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern oil exporters makes oil sands a more ethical energy source, particularly for the United States. How successful they will be with Americans remains to be seen. But their argument has clearly caught the attention of the government of Saudi Arabia. Canada’s largest private broadcaster, CTV, has refused to show a

ENTER: Turkey vs Cyprus Geopolitics

Geopolitics at play as Cyprus gets ready to develop offshore natural gas depositsBy Costis Stambolis *

At first it was the Arab Spring and the unrest that followed in the northern coastal strip of Africa, which is a net oil and gas exporter. From a European energy point of view Libya is what really matters, although Egypt’s position is pivotal since a sizable amount of oil and gas, a cumulative 2.0 to 2.5 bbl per day, flows through the Suez Canal and the country itself is a net gas exporter. Next came Syria, a small oil and gas producer by Middle Eastern standards, but long viewed as one of the most stable countries of the region in spite of ongoing regional conflicts. A fully fledged revolt is currently in progress in several parts of the country with thousands dead since its start last March, and the Assad regime desperately trying to cling on to power.

Oil Industry KYC: Know Your Conversions

Crude petroleum, and the refined products made from crude oil, are
normally measured either by volume in gallons and US barrels, or by weight
in tons or tonnes.  The relationship between volume and weight is usually
measured by density in the United Kingdom (the alternative measure is
relative density or specific gravity). American oilmen usually reckon
quantities of oil produced, moved or processed in barrels per day (bpd
or b/d). The loose but simple rule of thumb for conversion is that a barrel
a day is roughly 50 tonnes a year, but the relationship varies according
to density and so according to product.


CONVERSION FACTORS FOR OIL
        -----------------------------------------------------------------
                                       At 86°F (30°C)
                           -----------  Approximation -------------------
                           Liters      Liters      A.Gallons   A.Barrels
        Product            per         per         per         per
                           E.Ton       M.Ton       M.Ton       M.Ton
        -----------------------------------------------------------------
        L.P.G              1,864       1,835       484.6       11.54
        JP.4               1,355       1,333       352.4        8.39
        Jet A-1            1,274       1,254       331.2        7.89
        Premium            1,375       1,353       357.5        8.51
        Regular            1,440       1,418       374.5        8.92
        Kerosene           1,293       1,273       336.2        8.00
        Gas Oil            1,197       1,177       311.2        7.41
        Diesel Fuel        1,177       1,159       306.1        7.29
        Fuel oil  80 CST   1,082       1,065       281.2        6.70
        Fuel oil 180 CST   1,067       1,050       277.4        6.60
        Fuel oil 230 CST   1,064       1,047       276.6        6.59
        Fuel oil 280 CST   1,061       1,044       275.9        6.57
        Bitumen              994         979       258.5        6.15
        -----------------------------------------------------------------

FRANCE: Decarbonising the Transport Sector

By Amaka Araraume

Transport sector energy consumption accounts for about 28% of total final energy consumption in France and is the leading source of CO2 emissions from energy use. The purpose of this analysis is twofold. The first purpose is to analyze the potential factors influencing the changes in transport sector CO2 emissions in France over a period of 27 years (1980-2007) by decomposing the emissions growth into components associated with changes in fuel mix (FM), modal mix (MM), emission coefficient (EC), transportation energy intensity (EI) and economic growth. The second purpose is to forecast the transport energy demand and CO2 emissions for the period of 2006-2030.

TOP NEWS PICK : SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR FULL STORIES

GE Technology selected for largest floating LNG platform 

GE Oil & Gas has entered into an agreement with Technip to supply two steam turbine-driven compressors for the Shell Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) project | Energyme.com 

Iran to export LNG to China & India

 Iran is currently negotiating with 9 international companies to export LNG while China and India have requested to buy Iran’s LNG, Mehr News Agency reported quoting Managing Director of Iranian LNG Corporation Ali Kheyrandish as saying | Trend 

Mongolia presses on key mine project 

The government of Mongolia is seeking a bigger stake in Oyu Tolgoi, the biggest undeveloped copper mine in the world, in a surprise move that underlines the challenges ahead for Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe Mines as they develop the country’s flagship mining project | Financial Times 

Transocean’s semi-submersible rig arrives Nigeria 

Transocean’s GSF Rig 140 has arrived in Nigeria to undergo the planned 80-day maintenance and upgrade at Snake Island, Lagos. This is the first time in the history of the petroleum industry in Nigeria that a semi-submersible drilling unit will undergo maintenance of this magnitude in Nigeria | Business Day

Zambia’s new president worries miners 

Mining companies are waiting anxiously as Michael Sata, Zambia’s new president, settles into office, wary that the former opposition leader may put past threats against foreign investors into practice now that he has been elected | Financial Times

PetroChina aims to pump 1 bcm of shale gas in Sichuan in 2015 

PetroChina hopes to produce 1 billion cubic metres of shale gas in 2015 from southwest China's Sichuan basin, a company executive said on Sunday, giving the country its first major commercial production of shale gas | CNBC.com

WEEKEND DIGEST-->>> 24-25 SEPTEMBER

The Weekly Digest brings you the highlights of 'The Mix: Oil and Water!' for the past week.

Catch up. Read your favourite Articles and Posts- again and again...and some more!!!

**CLICK ON THE ARTICLES TO READ**

Top 5 Posts Read- This Week:

THE NATURE OF CONCESSIONS AND ROYALTIES

BRITISH PETROLEUM (BP) CORPORATE GIANT IN A CORPORATE MESS

BP's COMPETITIVE STRATEGY: LEADERSHIP AT WHAT COST?

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: 90 MINS SPEAKER SERIES OSAMEDE OKHOMINA

EGYPT CRISIS: AN IMMINENT OIL CONTAGION EFFECT?

Top 5 Posts Read- All Time:

1- British Petroleum (BP): Corporate Giant in a Giant Mess?

2- BP's Competitive Strategy: Leadership at what cost?

3- European Gas Market: Pipeline Gas VS LNG

THE CBN: Keys to the Nigerian Petroleum Economy

By Ifeanyi Aloh

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is solely entrusted with the duty of formulating monetary policy for the Nigerian economy. It is also popularly regarded and known as the lender of last resort; banker to the government and other commercial banks. The origin of CBN could be traced to the G.D. Paton Report, which was an enquiry of the banking practices within the period 1892 – 1952 instituted by the colonial government. This report gave rise to the Banking Ordinance of 1952, which sough to set the guidelines for orderly commercial banking and to ensure that only viable banks are set up. This Ordinance paved the way for the enactment of the CBN Act, 1958; which became fully operational when the bank started operation in July 1^st, 1959. [1] 

THE NATURE OF CONCESSIONS AND ROYALTIES

By Mabel Imoh Gab-Umoden

The concessionary or Tax/Royalty system is quite a common fiscal regime for most countries. A concession is an agreement between a government and an oil company that gives the oil company the privilege to explore, develop, produce, transport and market the petroleum at its own risk and expense within a given area at a specified period of time (Nakhle, 2008). In exchange for these rights, the International Oil Company may have paid the government a signature bonus or license fee (Johnston, Johnston and Rogers, 2008). The concessionary system has the following features:

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Will The Oil Tax Kill Investment In The UK?

Thursday, October 13, 2011 from 18:00 to 20:30 (GMT)

Copthorne Hotel Aberdeen 

122 Huntly Street

AB10 1SU Aberdeen

United Kingdom

View Map

EVENT DETAILS

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: 90 Mins Speaker Series--> Osamede Okhomina

Interact with Osamede Okhomina as he shares his business and life experiences at the October edition of Gbolahan Fagbure's 90 Minute Speaker series . Osamede Okhomina is the Chief Executive Officer of Energy Equity Resources, an upstream oil and gas company with headquarters in London and operations in Nigeria, Sao tome, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. He has been responsible for the acquisition of acreages in different parts of the world including negotiating partnerships with such oil and gas majors as Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil. Prior to EER, Osamede worked for Terra Energy Service and assisted them in the introduction of new deepwater technology, developed in Norway, into the Nigerian market. 

RENEGOTIATION CLAUSE---In Pursuit of Economic Equilibrium

By Liang Peng

As discussed in my previous articles (Renegotiation Clauses in International Investment Contracts & The Disputes over the Renegotiation Clause) renegotiation does not go smoothly without dispute, that is why international arbitration plays an important role for the effectiveness of renegotiation clauses. Studies show in most investor-State investment contracts, the parties will not go to the arbitration if they can reach an agreement themselves through renegotiation.[1] When the parties come to arbitration for renegotiation dispute, they either want the tribunal to restore the balance of economic interests under drastically changed circumstances, or terminate the contract and get compensation for damages. Although the procedure of renegotiation is important, the substantive aspects or the result of disputes arising out of renegotiation are also critical, which will affect the effectiveness of renegotiation clauses. If the work of the arbitral tribunal is only to give instruction on the procedure of renegotiation and evade dealing with interests of the parties, the renegotiation clauses would have no meaning to restoration of economic equilibrium. Therefore, how the arbitral tribunal should intervene in case of a failure to reach an agreement needs to be observed in depth. 

DEFAULT PROVISIONS UNDER A JOINT OPERATING AGREEMENT

By Nkaepe Etteh

Default is a major issue for the petroleum industry as E&P (Exploration & Production) is extremely capital intensive. Most E&P is carried out by JV (Joint Venture) governed by JOAs (Joint Operating Agreements). While the PL (Production License) authorizes the licensees to carry out petroleum operations, the JOA is the core agreement which governs the relations between the licensees in the JV. Each JOA enables the co-venturers to share the financial burden of the joint operations. Amongst other things, the JOA sets out remedies for default.[1]

BRITISH PETROLEUM AND COST CUTS

By Joel Achenbach

A 16-month federal investigation has concluded that BP’s efforts to limit costs on its mile-deep Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico contributed to the disastrous blowout last year that killed 11 workers and sunk the giant rig Deepwater Horizon.“BP’s cost or time saving decisions without considering contingencies and mitigation were contributing causes of the Macondo blowout,” states the long-awaited report by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The report, based on months of hearings and testimony from rig workers and engineers, skewers BP for dozens of mistakes and a failure to appreciate the risks of drilling and then temporarily abandoning the Macondo well.

WEEKEND DIGEST-->>> 10-11 SEPTEMBER

The Weekly Digest brings you the highlights of 'The Mix: Oil and Water!' for the past week.

Catch up. Read your favourite Articles and Posts- again and again...and some more!!!

**CLICK ON THE ARTICLES TO READ**

Top 5 Posts Read- This Week:

RISING FROM THE ASHES: Towards a Hydrogen Economy in Japan

PATRON SPEAK: Relevance of Clean Development Mechanism to Nigeria

ECONOMICS OF WORLD ENERGY MARKETS BY 2030: Impact of Increased LNG Exports

BRITISH PETROLEUM (BP): Corporate Giant in a Corporate Mess?

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Too big to Collide...!!!

Top 5 Posts Read- All Time:

1- British Petroleum (BP): Corporate Giant in a Giant Mess?

2- BP's Competitive Strategy: Leadership at what cost?

3- European Gas Market: Pipeline Gas VS LNG