Aug 2006

In promulgating its new Hydrocarbons Law last year, Algeria had two key objectives: to make itself more attractive to potential investors; and to make Sonatrach a competitive oil and gas player – at home and abroad. But is Algeria losing its nerve just as the first big test of these policies approaches, asks Alex Forbes?

"It was clear I was doing a decent job or they wouldn't have kicked me out" – Robert Amsterdam, lawyer to Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Interview by Derek Brower

The country now has a permanently elected government and a new oil minister. But can the new team revive Iraq's fortunes when militias control large parts of the country and Baghdad's authority over provincial oil developments is being challenged? James Gavin reports

Fossil-based fuels will remain the primary energy source for power generation and transportation in the foreseeable future. But as the scope and scale of projects aimed at developing alternative fuel sources grow, they will play an increasingly significant role in the US' energy future, writes Anne Feltus

The North American biofuels business is expanding rapidly, although there is still considerable uncertainty over how the industry will take shape. Investors rushed to buy shares in initial public offerings (IPO) held by several ethanol producers in the first half of 2006, but that trend seems to be fading, with reports that as many as 20 IPOs were withdrawn or delayed in late June, WJ Simpson writes.

Statoil has an ambition of achieving an average recovery rate of 55% from its subsea-completed oilfields – a remarkable target, bearing in mind that at present only the best platform-completed fields achieve this figure. The firm pins its hopes on a suite of new technologies, Martin Quinlan writes

The controversial Nam Theun 2 hydropower project shows big-ticket regional energy projects can happen – but not all grand plans will see the light of day, writes Martin Clark

Indonesia's Tangguh LNG project, now under construction, will inject new life into Southeast Asia's gas-export industry, Martin Clark writes

Argentina has agreed to increase the price it pays Bolivia for gas supplies. That will put more pressure on Brazil to agree to new terms, writes Robert Cauclanis

Canada's oil and gas sector needs more infrastructure. Enbridge wants to supply it. Derek Brower talks to the company's chief executive, Patrick Daniel

Industrialised economies have continued to grow despite evidence of weaker demand growth, while higher oil prices have failed to drag the global economy down. The traditional relationship between oil prices and macroeconomics has been transformed, reports James Gavin

Oil markets are linked by arbitrage and the key to physical arbitrage is a spot market. With no viable spot market for gas, buyers should prepare for more price shocks and face a genuine risk of supply shortages, write Edward Osterwald, vice-president, and Phil Redman, principal, CRA International