Once Upon a Red Line – the Iraq Petroleum Company Story
A consortium of four oil majors (today’s BP, Shell, Total and ExxonMobil) and oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian, the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) was designed to explore and extract oil in…
In the News
Thirteen years in the life of a super-major
In a rare, candid interview with a Wall Street oil analyst, Lee Raymond, CEO of ExxonMobil from 1999 to 2005, was asked what was the one issue that kept him…
Industry Standard Helps Decision Making
The energy industry is steadily adopting drilling data exchange standards Standards have been around for many years, and are steadily being adopted. In the oil industry almost all the major…
Fully integrated geoscience group
From the beginning of February 2013, all the geoscience divisions of Fugro will be incorporated into their new home in CGG, creating a fully integrated Geoscience group which the company…
Pipeline attacks in Nigeria
Attacks on pipelines have become commonplace in the oil-rich Niger Delta, and are symptomatic of the unrest in that volatile province. Previously the attacks were often the work of militants,…
A Shadow of its Former Self
Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill: six years of stop-go progress on oil industry reform has resulted in a bill that falls far short of its original transparency and revenue-generation goals With…
Egypt Déjà Vu
After weeks of grassroots campaigns, mass protests in Egypt erupted in July, culminating in the overthrow of President Morsi in what was effectively a military coup. Two and a half…
Energy and the Environment
The Rise and Rise of Corporate and Social Responsibility in the Energy Industry Petroleum operations have not always sat comfortably with concern for the environment or sustainability. However, over time…
Salt Lake City – An Attractive Destination
A beautiful location overlooked by the Rocky Mountains; history, culture, four seasons and the “greatest snow on earth” – Salt Lake City in Utah has plenty to offer the visitor.…
High Expectations Morocco
With landscape varying from the wonderful, snowy High Atlas mountains to the sand dunes of the Sahara, vibrant Morocco is one of Africa’s largest energy consumers, yet it remains remarkably…
Paradigm Shift for US Oil Production
The last time that the oil weapon was used was during the oil crisis in 1973. The US no longer had an oil buffer for the West to lean on…
The Powers That Be
On my ‘energy’ bookshelf, there are dozens of books published over the past two decades. Some of them argue for Peak Oil; others refute it; still others paint a bloody…