Sep 2006

Drilling rig rates are sky high as operators struggle to find rigs to meet rapidly growing upstream commitments. With oil prices expected to remain high, few expect demand for rigs to subside, writes Martin Clark

Some big figures have been put on the growth potential of Russia's oilfield-services industry. John Fitzgibbons, chairman of Russian oilfield services firm Integra, reckons neither a fall in the oil price nor a fall in production will stand in the way of this growth. Interview by NJ Watson

A $99m investment in a service-station network in Kyrgyzstan looks incongruous in Gazprom's vast and expanding energy portfolio. But the acquisition furthers two of the gas giant's important goals: to expand into the oil business and to establish a dominant position in former-Soviet Central Asia, writes Isabel Gorst

Refiners in key locations are benefiting from unprecedentedly high refining margins, driven by strong demand for products and by capacity constraints. With a worldwide move towards cleaner fuels, at a time when crude quality is declining, the need for intensive refining is forecast to grow, Martin Quinlan writes

It has the oil reserves. Now Alberta wants refiners to help the province secure top dollar for them. Derek Brower reports from the Canadian oil sands

With oil prices high and security of supply a rising concern for importing countries, interest in coal-to-liquids projects – once brushed aside as uneconomic – is growing again, writes Martin Clark

Cameroon hopes its reclamation of the Bakassi peninsula, after a long-running border dispute with Nigeria, could open up new oil and gas prospects. But no-one yet knows the extent of commercial deposits and much remains to be done before exploration can recommence, Ian Lewis writes

The globalisation of natural gas markets will be driven largely by LNG, and particularly LNG exports from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. Alex Forbes examines how powerful a force Mena LNG is likely to become between now and 2015

Dubai is planning to launch the Middle East's first oil futures exchange and others might follow in its wake. James Gavin asks whether the region is ready to become a trading centre for its prime commodity

Russia may yet ratify the Energy Charter Treaty. But the EU will have to make some sacrifices, writes Andrei Konoplyanik, deputy secretary-general of the Energy Charter Secretariat

Despite signs of weaker demand for its oil, caused by shortage of suitable refining capacity, Saudi Arabia is driving forwards with an integrated upstream and downstream expansion programme that will maintain its status as the mainstay of world oil supply. James Gavin reports