May 2005

Progress in liberalising EU electricity markets has been patchy at best. A shame, then, that the European Commission's draft directives on the electricity markets could inadvertently harm it further, writes NJ Watson

Natural gas prices are heading north, buoyed by the tight demand/supply conditions that have seen crude oil prices exceed $50 a barrel in recent months. As James Gavin reports, few expect the price pressure to ease in the near term

Good times may be here for the oil and gas industry. At around $50 a barrel, oil prices are high and some analysts say they could rise much further. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that fossil-fuel resources are more than adequate to meet demand until 2030 and beyond. To profit from that environment, firms must apply innovative technologies, writes Tony Wood, global chemicals and petroleum executive, IBM

Analysts at Lehman Brothers issued a report earlier this year that said "rising oil prices and dramatically lower operating costs have created a huge opportunity for Canadian oil-sands operators". That caught the attention of the US media. WJ Simpson reports

With refining margins looking robust, some of Opec's biggest hitters are piling in with ambitious grassroots refinery plans and plant upgrades. But, asks James Gavin, is it enough to cool overheated oil markets?

Exploration has been neglected in Russia for years. But that is set to change in 2005 with the launch of a major search for oil and gas in eastern Siberia and the far east of the country where a new production province will open up on the doorstep of Asia-Pacific's energy-hungry markets, reports Isabel Gorst

Enthusiasm for GTL is spreading. Qatar may be out in front, but ChevronTexaco and Syntroleum are making progress with projects in the Niger Delta that will help reduce gas-flaring and supply liquid products that fall outside Nigeria's Opec quota. Tom Nicholls reports

Europe is becoming increasingly dependent on gas imports from relatively few sources for its escalating gas needs, putting the issue of security of supply at the top of the energy agenda. The European Commission is worried about this trend. Many experts are not. NJ Watson reports

Europe took another small, but meaningful, step in the liberalisation of its gas markets in February, when Amsterdam-based APX Group launched continental Europe's first exchanges for trading gas, writes NJ Watson

The decision of a Houston bankruptcy court not to deal with the Yukos case has given the merger of Gazprom and Rosneft a fresh start. The deal's structure may have slightly changed since it was announced last autumn, but the consequences for foreign investors remain positive. Andrei Konoplyanik examines the new shape of Russia's energy industry and explains why Moscow must ratify the Energy Charter Treaty

Technology and innovation drive E&P development, but technological complexity is the enemy of innovation. Establishing standards is essential for managing complexity. Effective industry standards can free geoscientists and engineers to spend more time on innovation, problem solving and improving operational results, writes Steve C Comstock, vice-president of upstream technical computing, ExxonMobil Exploration

With technology infiltrating practically every aspect of our lives it is little wonder that the future oil and gas industry will depend more than ever on innovation in this area to unlock future production and help sustain profitability. Martin Clark writes

Little-explored Southern Sudan has huge oil potential. But despite January's peace deal, which brought 21 years of civil war to an end, the ownership of resources remains a contested issue. Steve Hawkes visited the leaders of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, in southern Sudan

Nigeria's first licensing round for five years, for which initial applications must be submitted by 29 May, could provide a useful reality-check for the authorities. The offer comes at a time when the country's deep-water exploration is flagging and development projects are snagged – and when there are attractive opportunities elsewhere in the Gulf of Guinea, Martin Quinlan writes

Irrespective of what happens in the Gulf, the fundamentals underlying the low oil price have not changed