Nov 2006

The Niger Delta's troubles will grow worse in the run-up to April's general election. Beyond that, it is anyone's guess, writes Tom Nicholls

Zdenek Bakala will use the IPO of his coal group to help drive the consolidation of the coal industry in central and eastern Europe. Interview by NJ Watson

LNG was once touted as the magic bullet for hungry energy markets. Things have changed, writes Derek Brower

LNG is a classic sellers' market, with supply constrained and demand expanding fast. It looks set to stay that way, writes Martin Quinlan

Many believe the LNG industry will grow by 7-10% a year between now and 2020. But where could supply on this scale come from? Alex Forbes examines the options

Russia's Gazprom remains one step ahead of the European Union's (EU) efforts to diversify its energy sources, the Nabucco pipeline could provide it.

CENTRAL Asia is benefiting from the angst gripping energy consumers worldwide. Central Asian gas, regarded as too difficult to produce by all except Russia at the start of the decade, is now viewed as a desirable resource.

THE START-UP of Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield in 1992 marked an historic breakthrough for the Western oil industry. Chevron was the first Western major to win a big oilfield-development project in the former Soviet Union,

KAZAKHSTAN'S offshore production is negligible, but by 2015 it could be contributing 60% of national output. The first large-scale production from the new oil province will come on stream by 2010

Investors in KazMunaiGaz are in a strong position to benefit from Kazakhstan's oil boom – largely because they have the backing of a strong state-owned partner. It is a pity the opportunity to invest was not extended to ordinary Kazakhstanis, writes Isabel Gorst

High oil prices have fuelled a revival in the nuclear power industry and the scramble for Central Asian energy resources has broadened to include uranium, the feedstock for atomic plants

The potential is there, but Australia's hopes of dominating the north Asian LNG market are in the balance. Resistance to LNG in the US and demands from the Western Australia government for 20% of reserves to be held back for local consumption could result in planned projects becoming uneconomic, writes Martin Clark

Woodside Petroleum has plenty to deal with in Australia. But, faced with limited upstream growth opportunities at home, the firm remains active with the drillbit overseas.

The Monash CTL venture marks a logical change of direction for Australia's coal industry and an opportunity to reduce rising oil imports. But technological and cost hurdles remain, writes Martin Clark