In the News

The Petroleum Gulf

Oil Discoveries off the Arabian Shore In that gulf, there was no continental shelf; its waters were not very deep and nowhere exceeded 75 fathoms. The geologists had ascertained that…

The Road to OPEC 1960

Holding 77% of world’s proven oil reserves and delivering 41% of production, OPEC has a powerful place in our world. Here we review how OPEC began and rose to its…

The End of Country: Dispatches from the Frack Zone

This is a book that all those interested in the anti-fracking movement should find rewarding. While helpfully descriptive in many areas, it is riddled with assumptions and technical misconceptions; and it is very forgiving of…

Markets Behaving Differently

The Middle East – one of the most stable E&P markets The Middle East is the largest producing area within the E&P industry, with a total production of around 41 MMboepd…

Back to Source Rocks: Part I

The science and analytical techniques to investigate petroleum source rocks have been developed over the past four decades. Understanding the geology and geochemistry of source rocks is crucial to petroleum…

Building Africa’s Oil and Gas Future

Commercial and organisational reforms together with sound advice and networks are needed to move Africa forward in the present challenging environment. Africa’s continental oil and gas game flourished on long-term trend…

Converting Discoveries Into Production

A key challenge for the E&P industry over the few next years will be to mature the discoveries made during the last five years, and convert them into commercial fields.…

The Ross Sea, Antarctica

Remoteness and extreme weather, coupled with increasing environmental concerns, mean that only about 200 visitors reach the Ross Sea each year – but once there they are rewarded with spectacular…

Ghana – from African Star to IMF Bail-out.

Despite the government’s protestations that oil revenues would be managed transparently, corruption, debt and economic mismanagement are now creating tension, as Ghana succumbs to the resource curse. In 2007 Kosmos…

Iraqi Kurdistan: It’s All in the Timing

The Zagros fold and thrust belt of Iraqi Kurdistan is a prolific petroleum province with several large-scale producing oil and gas fields. The region is under active exploration and hence…