Jul 2007

BP IS BACK in Libya, 33 years after its Sarir concession was nationalised by the then-Colonel Muammar Qadhafi – and in a big way. At the end of May the firm signed an agreement described by its new chief executive, Tony Hayward, as "BP's single biggest exploration commitment", Martin Quinlan writes.

Edmonton and Calgary have always been rivals. But Alberta's boom is pitting them in a new battle for the title of Canada's oil capital. Or does the province have room for two world-class oil towns, asks Derek Brower?

TNK-BP's hopes of retaining its licence for the Kovykta gasfield in eastern Siberia are over. The Russian major has been forced to sell, but has cut a deal and will form a strategic alliance with Gazprom that could lead to new opportunities in Russia and overseas, Derek Brower and Tom Nicholls write

KazMunaiGaz Exploration and Production is not just the upstream arm of the national oil and gas company. It is the new gatekeeper to the country's onshore resources. Derek Brower reports from Kazakhstan

With a budget of $25.7bn this year, Petrobras is outspending most of the world's supermajors, writes Robert Cauclanis

Petrobras continues to produce exciting results from exploration beneath the thick layers of salt under established offshore heavy-oil plays. IOCs are hoping to follow suit. Robert Cauclanis reports

Growing foreign investment in the oil industry – partly thanks to resource nationalism elsewhere – means Colombia will not become a net oil importer for at least seven years, writes Tom Nicholls

The success of Peru's plans to develop the country's gas industry depends on investment, but more importantly on the support of indigenous tribes in the Amazon region, writes NJ Watson

The new axis linking Chinese demand with Mideast output has brought the worldwide chemicals sector to a business peak. Some forecast that it will also bring the next industry downturn, Martin Quinlan writes

It remains uncertain how – and if – Europe will meet its biofuels targets, writes Ian Lewis

Qatar has set a high benchmark for gas development in the Middle East. Having neglected gas for years, other countries in the region are determined to catch up, writes James Gavin

With most easy-to-access hydrocarbons discovered, energy firms are looking to formations in ultra-deep, HP/HT environments. But exploiting these reserves will not be easy, or cheap, writes Anne Feltus

After the heady optimism of 2006, the first half of this year has been a reality check for the nascent GTL industry, writes Alex Forbes

If you can't flare it, reinject it or pipe it somewhere else, what do you do with associated gas? Petrobras thinks CompactGTL, a UK firm, may have a solution. Tom Nicholls writes