Mar 2005

Changes to Algeria's licensing regime in 2001, designed to improve licensing flexibility and encourage exploration, are having the opposite effect, especially for marginal fields. The government must improve terms if it wants to avoid a slow-down in licensing, writes Henry Hawkins, principal of Palantir Economic Solutions

Crude prices remained strong in February, as markets shrugged off some bearish stock-builds in the US. Houston spot WTI topped $48/b on 18 February and Nymex March and April WTI futures both broke though $49/b

Chinese and Indian companies are coming into conflict in their search for new sources of oil and gas, with results that will have an impact far beyond their home turf, writes Cris Heaton

A successful hedge policy only achieves the objective of ironing out oil price and cash-flow fluctuations if it is applied consistently from year to year. Having lost on hedges in 2004, oil companies run the risk of losing from a subsequent oil-price fall if they do not hedge future production, writes Liz Bossley

January's upstream licensing round, which saw the allocation of all 15 areas on offer, signals the start of a dramatic turnaround in Libya's underachieving oil and gas sector. It also marks the return of US companies after a two-decade absence. Tom Nicholls reports

Cantarell, Mexico's largest oilfield, has reached peak output and will soon enter sharp decline. Meanwhile, Pemex, the money-losing state-owned monopoly, is being bled white by an antiquated tax regime and, some say, could become a net oil importer in the near future. Can Mexico retain its place as a major energy supplier? Robert Olson reports

North Africa's gas-export capacity is a third higher than at this time last year and is set to rise by an additional 47% – possibly more – over the next four years. In recent months, Libya and Egypt have become substantial gas exporters, joining dominant Algeria. All three countries see prospects for increasing their exports to the expanding gas markets of Europe and the US, Martin Quinlan writes

High prices and margins gifted oil and gas companies a spectacular 2004, earning more than they could comfortably spend. But not everyone was applauding, reports Cris Heaton

Last year will be remembered by oil-shipping firms for a long time to come for record profits and for being the year that Wall Street finally sat up and took notice of the tanker industry, writes Martin Clark

Big shipping companies have bet that rising LNG trade will create a spot market for gas tankers, but some could still get their fingers burnt, writes Martin Clark

As the oil and gas industry moves offshore, classification societies are busy tagging the vessels of tomorrow, writes Martin Clark

Anyone seeking a new direction in US energy policy during George W Bush's second term is likely to be disappointed, writes Ellen Lask

Faced with a growing energy shortage, and unable to boost domestic production of oil and gas to any significant extent, India wants to import more gas from the Mideast Gulf and Central Asia, but pipelines from both sources would have to traverse Pakistan, while China appears to want all of Central Asia's gas for itself. Derek Bamber reports