Nov 2004

Trinidad and Tobago is running away with the Atlantic LNG market, while unlikely upstart Peru appears set to grab the lead in the Pacific. Elsewhere, upstream LNG projects are facing delays but in gas-short countries LNG import schemes have made significant progress, writes Robert Olson

Lenders' appetite for liquefied natural gas (LNG) risk is close to matching the phenomenal rise in global demand for the fuel, writes James Gavin.

Commentators on the future will surely look back on the present as the beginning of LNG's golden age. A combination of growing demand, increasing availability of gas, lowering production and transport costs, more flexible contracts, new corporate participants and new technology throughout the chain is promoting LNG from a niche product to a commodity, Martin Quinlan writes

Technological advances and economies of scale have seen LNG facilities costs fall substantially in the last 30 years. This and a sharp increase in the number of competing gas-supply projects have several important financial and legal implications for project owners, operators and finance providers, write Steven A Wardlaw, Baker Botts, and Pooya Alai, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

As the global market for LNG gathers pace, driving the demand for gas-transportation services around the world, more and more oil and gas companies are taking an interest in the shipping side of the business to create additional value along the chain. Martin Clark reports

With Qatar implementing huge increases in liquefaction capacity, Oman in expansion mode, Iran considering three LNG projects and Yemen LNG continuing to try to sew up long-term supply deals with India and South Korea, the Middle East's importance in world LNG trade is set to grow. Tom Nicholls and Helen Avati report

One of the world's most reviled countries may emerge a little further from its isolation with a very unusual deal that demonstrates its urgent need for energy and investment, writes Cris Heaton

After years of neglect by policymakers in the US, nuclear energy is back on the table as a cost-competitive, emissions-free source of power generation. But developers and industry proponents face a number of challenges, not least convincing a sceptical public, writes Ellen Lask

Aberdeen has built a reputation for excellence in supporting the UK oil and gas industry. But while the North Sea offers growth opportunities for niche operators, Aberdeen must reach out to other regions and new business areas. To remain an active source of oilfield services, a focus on R&D and innovative thinking will be needed, as well as timely government help. Tom Nicholls talks to Alasdair Locke, executive chairman of Abbot Group, Jim Milne, chairman and managing director of Balmoral Group, Jim Atack, managing director of Petrofac Facilities Management Europe, and Brian Nixon, director of energy at Scottish Enterprise

Asia was traditionally a seller's market for LNG, but recently the balance has shifted. Increased competition and the risk of oversupply will make life harder for the region's exporters, writes Cris Heaton

In this first of two analyses of the state of electricity production in Iraq, Power Economics assesses the impact of the war on an industry that must play an essential role in the country’s reconstruction.

While the Gulf oil industry is a vital cog in international relations, rather less attention is given to the region’s evolving power sector.

Power Economics concludes this two-part analysis of Vietnam, where communism and commerce converge

Can the power exchanges really make a difference? Power Economics explores

Other US states eye up the Texas electricity market