Petroleum Review - October 2010
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Editorial – Calm is good – but very calm is very good
AVIATION – JET FUELS
Full power ahead?
Air traffic during the earlier part of the year has been above negative predictions for the period. Is the recession’s worst over for the jet fuel aviation industry? asks Mark Rowe.
AVIATION – ALTERNATIVE JET FUELS
Shaping the future of aviation fuel
Mark Rumizen, Aviation Fuels Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration, and leader of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) Certification & Qualification Panel, reports on the latest progress in developing sustainable alternative jet fuels for commercial aviation.
ENERGY INSTITUTE – JET FUELS
International aviation fuel handling equipment standards
As reported in the July issue of Petroleum Review, the Energy Institute (EI) has taken over as the sole provider of the equipment standards and recommended practices used to facilitate the safe and efficient handling of aviation fuel at airports worldwide. Martin Hunnybun, EI Technical Team Manager, reports.
GAS & ENERGY – Unbundling
A long way to go
The process of ‘unbundling’ in the European Union (EU) gas industry, as called for under the EU’s third energy package, notably the gas directive 2009/73/EC adopted in 2009, has come to a standstill. This will, however, not last, says Alan Osborn.
EUROPE – GAS
Currency woes set to prolong change
Massive development of shale gas in the US is overturning the European gas market. The next phase of the euro deficit crisis will continue the process, writes Maria Kielmas.
DECOMMISSIONING – NORTH SEA
Benchmark Brent enters the end-game
Shell UK has signalled that it now plans to decommission the North Sea Brent field – its flagship asset – with a first contract being awarded to a company to provide decommissioning services and support for topsides on the Delta platform. John Bradbury reports.
DECOMMISSIONING – NORTH SEA
The end is nigh
Continuing the series of Energy Briefings developed by the Energy Institute in partnership with Deloitte, this article looks at the challenges and opportunities facing the UK decommissioning sector over the coming decades.
ENERGY INSTITUTE – Continuing professional development
Staying a step ahead
In 2010, the Energy Institute (EI) put together a continuing professional development (CPD) panel to assist with the reviewing of CPD records and advise the EI on its CPD provision. Kate Dunk, EI Professional Development Manager, reports.
CONFERENCES – ADIPEC
Spotlight on the Middle East
News of increased oil production for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will have widespread ramifications for the region’s development, further placing a world spotlight on the Middle East as a key energy hub, according to ADIPEC (Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference).
RUSSIA – GAS DISPUTE
A predictable surprise
In a recently published report, Katja Yafimava, Research Fellow, Natural Gas Research Programme, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES), argued that the June 2010 Russia-Belarus gas transit dispute should not have come as a complete surprise to Europe. There had been important indications that while the January 2007 supply and transit contract had been working, Russia-Belarus gas relations had not reflected some of its terms, thus suggesting a dispute in waiting.
OIL – RISK MANAGEMENT
Big Oil’s big shift
As a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill earlier this year, the oil industry faces profound changes – not just in the management of environmental risks, but in every aspect of its business, write Booz & Company’s Viren Doshi, Hege Nordah and Adrian Del Maestro.
CHINA – CBM
China CBM in slow start
Leslie Lie, Wood Mackenzie’s Upstream Analyst and author of the report China’s CBM industry on the launchpad discusses the significance of CBM in China’s gas industry and the most likely development outcomes, based on Chinese production targets.
TECHNOLOGY – H&S
Thermal gas detection
Detecting gas leaks is a daily concern for many companies, yet many industrial gases and chemical compounds are invisible to the naked eye. Some companies work intensively with these substances before, during and after their production processes, transporting and transforming these gases every day. Many of these companies use technologies like the traditional ‘sniffers’ to detect gas leaks. There are, however, other technologies available, such as thermal imaging, which can scan broader areas faster and can be used in areas that are difficult to reach or enter.
TECHNOLOGY – PIPELINES
Anticipating cracks in the pipeline
Dr Simon Rees, Petrochemical Sector Manager at engineering consultancy Frazer-Nash, discusses how a novel maintenance technique developed for the nuclear submarine industry could have direct benefits to oil platform operators.
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