Dubai 2012 - The Geopolitical Outlook: Future Shocks. DMI TV Debate (Eng...

Geopolitical risks are some of the biggest Oil price drivers. From climate change to the South China Sea, the geopolitical dynamics of our world cannot be ignored in the natural resources sector. What are the risks in your region and what is the outlook?

• Lisa Anderson, President, American University in Cairo, Egypt; Global Agenda Council on the United States

• Ian Bremmer, President, Eurasia Group, USA; Young Global Leader; Global Agenda Council on Geopolitical Risk

• Kevin Rudd, Member of Parliament, Australia; Global Agenda Council on Fragile States

• Wu Xinbo, Professor, Fudan University, People's Republic of China; Global Agenda Council on Geopolitical Risk

• Habib Ben Yahia, Secretary-General, Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), Rabat

Moderated by

• Maya Hojeij, Bulletin Editor and Presenter, Dubai Media Incorporated, United Arab Emirates

How do I Calculate my Oil and Gas Royalty?

How tricky is the calculation of Royalty? What 'volumes' do we base our calculations on?

Focus on Africa's Mining Sector - Part 1

How best do we optimize Africa's mineral resources?

TOP NEWS PICK: NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Developments in International Oil & Gas | Energy | Extractive Industries

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US to become world leader in oil and gas thanks to fracking 

The United States will leapfrog Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world's biggest producer of oil and gas in the next five years as the controversial practice of "fracking" for hydrocarbons contained in shale rocks has enabled the country to increase production massively, according to an authoritative new report | The Independent 

NNPC GMD sues for concerted effort in domestic gas utilization 

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, has urged members of the National Association of Petroleum Explorationist, NAPE, to collaborate with the Corporation in enhancing domestic gas utilization in tandem with the gas revolution programme of the Federal Government | SweetCrude 

Oil dips on 'fiscal cliff' worries 

Oil slipped in choppy trading on Monday, as markets balanced concerns about US fiscal problems against geopolitical tensions and strong oil demand in China | Upstream Online

Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa oil sector to grow in 2013 – ECA 

Energy and Corporate Africa has noted that in the face of global economic instability, indications are that sub-Saharan Africa will continue to garner economic growth, especially given the 5.8% growth projection by the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for 2012 | SweetCrude

Afren PLC provides interim management statement 

Afren continues with record financial results in 2012 driven by the year-on-year increase in net production from the Ebok and Okoro fields, offshore Nigeria | Oil Voice

Oil price for Indian basket rises to USD 106.09/bbl 

The international crude oil price for Indian Basket as published by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry ofPetroleum and Natural Gas increased to USD 106.09/barrel (bbl) on Nov. 09, 2012 | Myiris

ConocoPhillips pushes ahead with

Monetary Policy & Nigeria's Petroleum Economy

By Ifeanyi Aloh

EFFECTS ON THE ECONOMY

The effects of the MPC monetary decision on the Nigerian economy in the face of the global economic crisis could best be described in the comment made by Sam Ohuabunwa, the Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), as follows: 

“Turmoil in global financial markets is deepening into recession across the world. Our recent gains in economic growth and macroeconomic stability may be threatened by sustained fall in oil prices. There is greater threat of ‘protectionism’ as countries look inward to protect against recession.”[1]

The MPC of the CBN against the background of some factors made certain monetary decisions in the period 2007/2008 to forestall a spiral of the economy into inflation. The factors considered are:

TOP NEWS PICK: NOVEMBER 12, 2012

Developments in International Oil & Gas | Energy | Extractive Industries

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US natgas rig count gains, oil rigs hit 6-month low 

The number of rigs drilling for natural gas in the US rose after posting a 13-year low, but the oil-directed rig count slid to a six-month low, data from Houston-based oil services firm Baker Hughes showed | Equities

Yemen's main oil export pipeline shut after bombings 

Flows through Yemen's main oil export pipeline were stopped after the line was blown up in two places on Sunday night, the state news agency and local government sources said | Reuters

Oil Fluctuates as Japan Contraction Counters China, U.S. Data 

Oil in New York fluctuated after its first weekly gain in a month as signs of an improving economic outlook in China and the U.S. countered concern that a contraction in Japan will curb demand | BloomberBusinessWeek

Kazakhstan: Atyrau region hosts oil and gas meeting on local content 

Kazakhstan will fully supply the domestic market with light oil starting from 2015 following the reconstruction of the three domestic refineries | Caspionet

Total confirms talks over Nigerian assets 

The chief executive of French oil major Total said he would not deny a report company was in talks to sell assets in Nigeria, worth about $2.4 billion, to China's Sinopec | Upstream Online

Shell shuts Nigerian pipeline 

Shell shut its Imo River oil pipeline in Nigeria at the end of last month due to damage caused by thieves and deferred 25,000 barrels per day of production | Upstream Online

Brent prices slide below

WITS Launches Mining Research Institute

Wits University in South Africa launched its Mining Research Institute on the 28th of September, 2012. According to interim Director- Prof. Nielen van der Merwe,  “Africa is renowned for its extraordinary mineral wealth, yet the last two decades have seen limited research in mining, minerals and exploration,” .....We are hopeful that the Institute will reverse the recent decline in South Africa’s mining research output. During the period of decline of mining research, there was not only a lack of much needed research outputs but the next generation of researchers were not trained either. We intend to work with the public and private sectors, and others, in order to find creative, lasting solutions to our own unique South African problems, at the same time equipping young researchers with the necessary skills to continue doing so into the future.”

Oil and Gas Exploration

From the Permian Basin in Texas to Offshore platforms around the world....; how much scope do you have about oil and gas exploration

RELIEF FROM FORFEITURE AND JOINT OPERATING AGREEMENTS

By Nkaepe Lisk-Carew

(With respect to the first and second installments of this paper) All the above-mentioned cases can be reconciled in the fact that there must be a transfer of a proprietary or possessory right which may be in land or personal property. Celestial Aviation provides a three stage test which would assist the courts in establishing whether or not jurisdiction should be granted. Therefore the first question should be whether the forfeiture involves the transfer of a proprietary or possessory interest in the JOA. Willoughby suggests that the JOA is essentially contractual but that does not preclude the interest from being proprietary.[1]

SHELL SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT

Shell has pioneered the use of Scenarios for Strategic Planning and Development- right from the era of Pierre Wack in the '70s to date.

What are the contemporary issues today and the linkages for the future that are worth modelling?

QuickCapture for Reservoirs

The revolutionary technology behind QuickCapture™ allows 100% of all in-situ gases and liquids to be collected at safe working pressures, giving a complete and accurate picture of the reservoir to guide productivity.

TOP NEWS PICK: NOVEMBER 9, 2012

Developments in International Oil & Gas | Energy | Extractive Industries

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Azerbaijan may build gas processing complex in US 

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan may build a gas processing complex in the United States, SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said | Oil & Gas Eurasia

Oil falls as global economic worries resurface 

The price of oil plunged 4 percent Wednesday as traders shifted their focus back to the struggles of the global economy | BusinessWeek

Rosneft, LUKOIL may sell oil directly to PKN Orlen 

Rosneft and LUKOIL are holding talks with Poland’s PKN Orlen, a major oil refiner and petrol retailer in Europe, on direct supplies of 10 million tonnes a year | Oil & Gas Eurasia 

Nigeria Senate approves N250bn NDDC budget for 2012 

November 2012, Sweetcrude, ABUJA –BARELY 53 days to the end of the year, the Senate has approved for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, a budget sum of N250,857,925,434.00 as 2012 budget | SweetCrudeReports 

India and ASEAN agree to explore cooperation in Renewable Energy 

The first ASEAN India Ministerial Meeting on cooperation in Renewable Energy was held in the capital on November 8th 2012 | Steel Guru

Ukraine starts gas shipments to

Finding Petroleum - Per Magnus Nysveen (Rystad Energy)

Per Magnus Nysveen, Partner and Head of Analysis at Rystad Energy, on "A long term global forecast for the extraction of oil and gas from shale formations"

TOP NEWS PICK: NOVEMBER 6, 2012

Developments in International Oil & Gas | Energy | Extractive Industries

CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR FULL STORIES

Deregulation of the downstream sector may fail – University don 

A socio- economic analyst and Chief Lecture at the Anambra State University, Uli, Dr. Godwin Uchechukwu Akam, has expressed concern that the federal Government’s plan for deregulating the downstream sector of the oil industry was at the verge of being totally defeated, following the activities of a cabal operating in the industry | SweetCrude

Syrian Rebels Capture Oil Field 

BEIRUT—Syrian rebels firing mortars and rocket-propelled grenades captured an oil field in the country's east Sunday after three days of fierce fighting with government troops protecting the facility, activists said | WallStreetJournal

Ghana: Goodwill commended for training youth in oil and gas 

Mr Abuga Pele, Executive Director of Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA), has commended the Goodwill International Group (GIG) for successfully training the youth in oil and gas | VibeGhana

Yemen pipeline to be fixed in a week 

A gas pipeline feeding Yemen's only liquefied natural gas export terminal will take about one week to be repaired following an attack on it last week, Reuters quoted the country's oil minister as saying | Upstream Online

ARTICLES 

Rivers-Bayelsa oily brouhaha and the politics beneath 

Juan Pablo Alfonzo, a prominent Venezuelan diplomat was indeed a wise man. He predicted that oil is a devil’s excrement that only brings curses and ruin to those who possess it. The Niger Delta region has been a very painful example of how the discovery of oil cannot and may not be a blessing. After a very turbulent period that led to

The Challenges of the West African Gas Pipeline and its Implications on the Domestic Energy Consumption of Ghana

By Jacob Dagbee

As people in every part of the world, citizens in the West Africa Sub-Region seek a higher standard of living, which can only be possible with access to commercially sustainable energy services and energy security. Energy is the pivot or the fulcrum around which the economic development of every country revolved. This is because energy is what drives the turbines in the industry for the manufacturing of goods and services, fuels bumper harvest in the agriculture sector through the usage of machines such as tractors, combined harvesters, facilitate the movement of agricultural produce to the market centres to reduce post-harvest losses, light and cool/ warm homes and offices and most importantly aid the transportation of people to and fro their economic activities.

Maximizing Value of Nigeria's Hydrocarbon Resources- Senator Magnus Abe

Chairman Senate Committee on Nigerian Petroleum Downstream Sector on contemporary issues, on-going reforms in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry.

See the continuation video after the jump break...

Claiming Damages in Oil and Gas Contracts

We all enter into Oil and Gas Contracts 'in good faith', so to speak....; and then... 'things' happen. How do we claim damages?

OIL & GAS UK: Step Change in Safety

According to Oil & Gas UK, Step Change in Safety is the UK-based partnership with the remit to make the UK the safest oil and gas exploration and production province in the world. It is charged with achieving this vision through cooperation, collaboration, sharing and adoption of best practice and learnings. 

Membership of Step Change in Safety now includes the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and industry trade unions. The strategy, set by a leadership team, comprises:

· recognising hazards and reducing risk

· personal ownership for safety

· asset integrity.

As at 2010, the UK was the Safest place to work in the worldwide Oil & Gas Industry. How has this been possible? 

Watch and read more after the cut...

BP: STEM Talent Pool

BP recently sponsored the British Science Festival in Aberdeen. We ran a panel debate on STEM talent in the UK and discussed how to tap into the UK's talent pool. As an industry, we need to stimulate interest amongst graduates to apply for jobs in the energy sector. Find out more at BP.com/careers.

Wealth Strategies: Shorts eyeing solar, clean energy stocks

Nov. 1 - SunGard's Tim Smith says both economic and political factors are contributing to an increased short interest in solar companies like First Solar and electric car maker Tesla Motors.