Dec 2004

Crude prices last month slumped from October's record highs, with WTI shedding $10/b between late October and mid-November

Recent years have seen advances in information technology (IT) deliver substantial boosts to the bottom line for many companies. But there are further opportunities for profitability gains, both from improving existing systems and from greater integration between the control systems that drive facilities such as refineries and the back-office systems that keep a beady eye on the company finances, writes Cris Heaton

Betta, scheduled for completion by April 2005, will integrate the Scottish, English and Welsh electricity markets. Richard Cockburn and Liz Bossley of CEAG consider the implications

Against a backdrop of rapidly rising energy demand, China is plotting a grand future for natural gas in a desperate bid to support its booming economy, writes Martin Clark

Moscow's dithering over oil-export policy to China has allowed Kazakhstan—which is keen to find new markets for its oil, especially ones that bypass Russia—to step into the breach. Pipeline construction has begun and exports should start in little more than a year, reports Isabel Gorst

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the energy sector has played an important role in the country's economic development. In the oil and gas sector, successful development requires a combination of reserves and a sound upstream legal regime that incentivises their exploitation. Michael Arruda, a partner with Fulbright & Jaworski in Hong Kong, explores China's foreign-investment regime and the regulatory system that supports it

China's economy is expanding at a rate that has thrown commodity markets into a frenzy. With rapid growth set to continue for the foreseeable future, and barring a possible meltdown of the shaky financial sector, the questions of where and how the country will secure the energy resources to fuel its economy take centre stage. China's NOCs seem to have the answer, write Fareed Mohamedi and Saad Rahim

China's appetite for all types of energy continues to rise and electricity is no exception. The country's generating capacity has surged by 100 gigawatts (GW) to over 400 GW in just four years, but producers are still unable to keep pace with the even greater rise in demand. Cris Heaton reports

Russia and China have major influences on the world's energy markets—one with production and the other with consumption. That makes them natural partners. Geopolitics may stand in the way, but Russian energy exports to Asia look logical and economic, writes Stephen O'Sullivan, United Financial Group

China's thirst for oil has sparked its state-owned energy firms into a frenzy of activity in the past year or so. But there is also increasing scope for foreign players, especially in the offshore sector, with the Bohai Bay area emerging as a focal point for development, Martin Clark reports

Statistically, China looks like a car salesman's heaven. With a population of about 1.3 billion, it has more than four times as many potential customers as the US, the world's largest car market. But the number of individually owned cars is less than one for every 100 people, compared with almost one for every two people in the US, writes Cris Heaton

Life has not been good for China's oil refineries recently. Despite soaring demand for oil products, margins are often razor-thin, or negative, at a time when companies face major investments to revamp and expand their facilities, writes Cris Heaton

With bids due to be opened this month on EGPC's second licensing round, Egypt is gearing for more E&P activity in 2005 as it seeks to shore up its rampant gas expansion. James Gavin reports

With a projected average global refining margin of nearly $6 a barrel this year—60% higher than in 2003—2004 has been a windfall year for refiners, defying some expectations that robust crude prices might dampen margins. James Gavin reports

Royal Dutch/Shell has done a lot of talking about the need to listen to shareholders, modernise antiquated ways and take hard-nosed business decisions. Last month, the Anglo-Dutch major proved more decisive in its plans for corporate restructuring than most industry observers had expected. Tom Nicholls reports

Although decommissioning—in common with death and taxes—is inevitable, so far there have been many fewer decommissioning projects in the North Sea than had been forecast. New technology, the emergence of firms specialising in tail-end production and high oil prices have all helped to defer shut-down day for many fields. But decommissioning work is expected to accelerate in the next few years, Martin Quinlan writes

Caution still pervades the public comments of senior international oil company (IOC) executives when it comes to Iraq. Given the absence of the two key conditions for IOC investment—a stable political/security situation and a transparent and fair regulatory system—expectations for speedy IOC entries are still low, writes James Gavin

Energy policy in much of Latin America is swinging back to a state-dominated model. But investors would be mistaken to assume the trend is the same across the entire region—opportunities still remain for firms that are not risk-averse, reports Robert Olson

With the second-largest reserves of any privately owned oil company, Lukoil has massive untapped assets. Yukos' demise has returned Lukoil to the limelight and its $2bn deal with ConocoPhillips could mean the Russian major is ready to shake off its stuffy, bureaucratic image. Steve Hawkes talks to Leonid Fedun, the company's vice-president