Aug 2007

Moving wellstream operations from the platform to the seabed is the industry's next big engineering challenge, with the prize of increasing the world's oil and gas reserves as smaller fields become commercial. Norway is making the running in the technology, Martin Quinlan writes

As a commentator on the mess of European energy policy, Dieter Helm is a man much in demand. Interview by Derek Brower

While the world's attention is drawn to burgeoning energy-demand statistics in China and India, Petroleum Economist asks how those countries' neighbours in Southeast Asia are aiming to meet their own supply needs. Derek Brower reports

Is the Western picture of a careless polluter a fair depiction of China? Derek Brower looks at the country's efforts to change its image

At least 20 IGCC plants have been proposed in the US and that figure could continue to grow as the technology advances and as state and federal governments establish measures aimed at curbing CO2 emissions, writes Anne Feltus

The EU must import significant volumes of biofuels to meet stringent, self-imposed requirements for their use, but increasing imports raises difficult questions for European policymakers, writes NJ Watson

Growing concern about greenhouse-gas emissions from power generation has put nuclear energy in the spotlight. But although nuclear is virtually emissions-free, plans for waste disposal are causing controversy, writes Anne Feltus

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia plan to invest jointly in nuclear power, but their common energy policy is unco-ordinated, writes NJ Watson

To help meet unprecedented gas-demand growth in the Mideast Gulf, two large supply projects are on the verge of start-up after a series of delays. However, while the Dolphin project is now on track, the Salman scheme remains deadlocked over gas price, writes Alex Forbes

Rapid urbanisation means the world will need new cities. Dongtan offers a vision of what they could look like. Derek Brower talks to the firm developing it

Firms with the resources to weather the downturn in the biofuels market stand to prosper in the long term, writes Ian lewis

Worldwide bottlenecks in refining capacity, at a time of sharply rising demand for products, have brought strong refining margins for over three years. But there are signs that easing fundamentals could trim profits next year, Martin Quinlan writes.

Refining margins have recently been at all-time highs, but the industry faces much uncertainty and needs to prepare for a downturn. So says Derek Marshall, one of the heads of business development at Shell Global Solutions International. Interview by Alex Forbes

Crude oil futures have been trading at levels just shy of record prices this summer. What is driving the market and who is to blame? Derek Brower reports

Middle Eastern investors are sponsoring a stream of new oil companies, active at home and abroad. They are emerging as powerful players – although domestic upstream access is off the agenda, for now, writes James Gavin

As investors pull out, Iran is taking desperate measures to insulate itself from international sanctions. Reducing gasoline usage is just the start, reports James Gavin

Governments must start to think creatively to combat the growing threat to global energy infrastructure, writes Paul Hueper, author of the second edition of the Petroleum Economist book, Fundamentals of Energy Infrastructure Security: Risk Mitigation in the International Environment