Jul 2005

Among all the energy proposals embraced by the administration of US President George W Bush, drilling for hydrocrabons in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is arguably the most controversial. To the administration, the refuge is a promising source of new domestic oil and natural gas supplies; to conservationists and environmentalists, it is a unique habitat that should be protected, not exploited, by the government. Ellen Lask reports

Brazil is expected to complete its long quest for oil self-sufficiency by early next year. The country is now turning its attention to natural gas, where surging demand and potential supply disruptions in Bolivia are becoming a concern, reports Robert Olson

Seven liquefied natural gas (LNG) import projects, with a potential send-out capacity of 3.7bn cubic feet a day (cf/d), the bulk of it earmarked for the US, are on track for completion in Canada this decade. Although not all are expected to survive, they represent a way around the rising tide of anti-LNG campaigns in the US, writes WJ Simpson

Completion of a new oil pipeline linking Baku with the Turkish Mediterranean has provided Azerbaijan with a route to western markets that will guarantee the republic a future as a Caspian export hub even after its own production enters decline, writes Isabel Gorst

IPCC is convinced the climate is heating up and, consequently, extreme weather events will become the norm. But will it be better in the long run to defend ourselves against climate change and its consequences or to attack its causes? Liz Bossley investigates

The number of platforms being decommissioned each year in the US Gulf of Mexico is outpacing the number of new installations. As retiring platforms are found in ever-deeper waters, innovative solutions will be required, writes Anne Feltus

The $3.5bn Dolphin gas pipeline project between Qatar and the UAE has reached some important milestones. James Gavin reports on the progress of one of the Middle East's grand projects

It is ironic that one of the largest and most complex development projects undertaken in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) has been labelled the Independence Hub, writes Anne Feltus

IBRAHIM Bahr al-Ulloum, the Iraq transitional government's new oil minister, took office in early May with an optimistic message about the prospects for the country's oil industry. The new motto would be to "boost production and battle corruption". James Gavin reports

Despite enabling it to return £2.5bn of cash to shareholders, Scottish Power's US adventure looked like it had come to a sticky end with the company's exit from its under-performing PacifiCorp unit and the £1bn write-off that followed. But its decision to hang on to PPM Energy, a rapidly growing US wind business, suggests it has merely changed tack, writes Robert Lea

With GDP growth running at about 8% a year India's economy is booming. That is forcing the authorities to focus on how to meet future energy demand. Other South Asian countries are equally keen to secure energy supplies, writes Martin Clark

Suez's has finally turned the corner after a terrible period. But a cloud still hangs over the French industrial and services group in the form of a dispute with a minority shareholder over its complex structure, writes Nick Watson

Electromagnetic surveying has long been a vital tool for academic geologists. Now the race is on to commercialise it as a way of detecting hydrocarbons deposits. The results could revolutionise oil and gas exploration, writes Ian Lewis

Total is a favourite among analysts for its strong business mix and geographically dispersed operations. However, the French company faces the same problem as others majors in replenishing its dwindling reserves, leading it into regions with greater exploration and political risks, writes NJ Watson

Abu Dhabi's main energy-investment vehicle is forming relationships with international oil companies to explore in areas throughout the Middle East. These partnerships could have decisive implications for the region's oil and gas landscape. James Gavin reports

Late last year, various newspapers claimed Yukos' shareholders were to sue the Russian government under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) for the dismantling of their company to pay for alleged back-taxes. That led to a polarised debate over how successful such an attempt would be. The question deserves accurate legal analysis and might keep lawyers busy for a long time, writes Andrei Konoplyanik

Opec's decision to raise its production quota from the March level of 27.5m barrels a day (b/d) to 28m b/d from 1 July – merely formalising existing output levels – was virtually ignored by the markets

Oil prices rose above $60/b in July amid fears that tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico would disrupt supplies to the US

European Union (EU) will be hard pressed to meet its targets for increasing the use of biofuels. The high price of feedstock and the shortage of suitably large areas of land for growing the crops make them a much more marginal commercial proposition than in other markets, such as Brazil, writes Dan Lewis, director of environmental affairs, at the Stockholm Network

For energy companies, part of sustainable development means adopting a moral stance to ensure they systematically protect all aspects of the environment in which they work. Are oil companies responding to public pressure to act responsibly? Tom Nicholls reports on CSR

The government plans to sell part of EdF in October. But shaky finances, unruly unions and a disgruntled public promises to make the privatisation a hard sell, says NJ Watson

Gaz de France must adapt to life as a publicly quoted company, cope with competition in the domestic gas market, take on Electricité de France in the French power sector and expand internationally. The next two years will prove a critical period in the company's history, writes Ayesha Daya

BP made a profit on its solar business last year and the world solar market is growing by 40% a year. But while momentum behind the business is building, the economics of solar power generation continue to depend on state support, reports James Gavin

After the devastation of last year's tsunami, Southeast Asia is putting itself back together. The economy is gaining momentum and the energy sector is of rising importance to the Asia-Pacific region, writes Martin Clark

Norway's Statoil has been storing carbon dioxide from the Sleipner field in a saline aquifer since 1996 and the techniques it is helping develop will lead the world on to a low-carbon diet, say Trude Sundset, Rosetta Steeneveldt, Tore Andreas Torp and Bjørn Berger

High oil prices mean the majors are less willing to part with UK North Sea assets. But, reports James Gavin, innovative operators are still able to secure promising offerings on the UKCS, which, despite declining production, could continue producing until 2050

Prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is talking openly about future Ukrainian energy independence. Is anyone else? Derek Brower reports

It is just eight months since the Orange Revolution and Ukraine should be basking in the rewards of its movement towards democracy, a market economy, Europe and the World. If only investors agreed. Derek Brower reports from Kyiv

The ever-increasing political focus on carbon emissions, climate change and energy efficiency is having a major effect on the shape and direction of the power sector in the UK. Wind-power capacity is growing, but nuclear generation may yet make a comeback, writes Alex Msimang, partner, Vinson & Elkins RLLP