Petroleum Economist
Canada's Saudi spat and oil's new world order
Canada's relations with the oil superpower have taken a turn for the worse
South Africa imposes licensing restrictions
Temporary restrictions on oil and gas licensing are causing confusion, but should help reform the licensing system in the long run
October 2018
The October 2018 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
Australia's LNG comes of age
Western Australia has the potential resources and infrastructure to supply the world with LNG for decades
Australia's gas race has begun
Three potential LNG projects are competing to fill eastern Australia's gas-demand supply gap
Use it or lose it, Equatorial Guinea tells drillers
The West African state wants to see more activity from oil firms now the oil price has recovered, and is launching a new bid round
Slow rise for Asia's deep-water sector
Deep-water exploration in the region is expected to see an uptick in investment in the coming decade
Africa is back on the deep-water agenda
Drillers are starting to renew interest in African projects deemed too costly and risky
Life with Amlo
Mexico's upstream has boomed in recent years, and a bullish new president wants to drive growth
One step forward, two back in Libya
An IS attack on the Tripoli HQ of Libya’s battered oil industry has presented the sector with its sternest test yet
Israel-Egypt gas export deal shapes up
Practical steps have been taken that could eventually enable gas from Israel’s offshore to be piped to Egypt
Is the oil market facing a supply crunch?
Market forces, Trump's tweets and the latest Opec+ agreement have helped shape global supply in recent months
Australia’s Dorado: A black gold bonanza
After three decades without sizable discoveries, Western Australia is now the country’s most exciting exploration province
Australian shale play faces rocky ride
The Northern Territory, a key LNG centre, holds huge reserves of shale gas. But will regulations stifle development?
Canada's pipeline paralysis hits Trudeau hard
A Canadian court has blocked plans for a pipeline expansion
Chill in the air for Canadian drillers
Labour day heralded the unofficial start of the Canadian drilling season. This year it’s beginning amid uncertainty
Gazprom continues to aim high
The towering ambition of Gazprom’s capex programme is matched only by the height of its controversial new St Petersburg headquarters
Global storage not tanked up enough
World commercial oil inventories continued their declining trend over the past year. Oil storage owners face a mixed market
Liquidity fuels LNG storage growth
Commercial storage of LNG is on the rise as the market evolves, and emissions controls loom larger on the horizon
Big guns boost UK North Sea commitments
Shell and Equinor have bolstered their offshore presence in the UK, while Total has made a sizeable discovery
Ecuador: In a hurry to mend the past
After a decade marred by corruption and legal disputes, Ecuador’s reformist government wants a more investment-friendly exploration regime
Unions flag North Sea safety fears
Changed working terms have triggered strikes in both the the UK and Norwegian North Sea oil industries
Novatek Arctic LNG project defies US sanctions
Novatek’s Arctic LNG projects are continuing apace, despite Washington’s so-called “bill from hell”
Senegal and Guinea-Bissau deal faces domestic pressures
Guinea-Bissau is eager to kick start exploration in acreage shared with oil-rich Senegal, but it’s slow going
South Africa urgently seeking gas as energy transition stalls
South Africa’s power sector plans envisage a big role for gas, but first the country needs to find the feedstock
UK resumes fracking after seven-year hiatus
Fracking is underway again in northern England, but don’t expect a US-style shale boom any time soon
US carbon fight moves to Washington state
The lack of political enthusiasm for a federal-level US carbon tax contrasts with more positive undercurrents in Washington state’s heated carbon referendum
Saudi Arabia hoping 'business as usual' strategy holds
Although some prominent figures stayed away from a major investment conference in Riyadh, the meeting went ahead with many global firms represented
Are reports of Canada's oil sands demise greatly exaggerated?
Canada is looking to boost oil sands output by 2020, in spite of the major political and environmental challenges
Iran sanctions: Tehran is no stranger to oil's upheavals
US sanctions will target Iran’s energy industry from November. But the country where the first Middle Eastern oil discovery was made has faced many past vagaries in oil fortunes
Brazil's energy reform at stake in election showdown
The energy sector will see a reform agenda gain momentum from a Bolsonaro win, but a change in direction if Haddad can pull off an unlikely comeback
Petrobras turns page as corruption saga draws to a close
An SEC fine as part of the firm’s long-running corruption scandal looks the least-worst outcome and may mark the beginning of the end of its international headaches
IEA: Oil recovery lulls producer nations into economic stupor
Hydrocarbons-dependent nations need to diversify their economies fast to make up for future revenue shortfalls
Interview: Convincing Europe to embrace nuclear power
Tim Yeo faces an uphill struggle in trying to persuade Europeans to think nuclear
M&A: Oil majors jockey for position to ride an LNG boom
Firms are reshuffling their portfolios in favour of gas ahead of the looming energy inflection point
Norway's offshore sector boosted by wave of mergers
Strategic tie-ups are providing some badly needed lifeblood for the Norwegian offshore sector
Continental storage divide
European oil storage struggles as new facilities aid further growth in Asia