The oil and gas sector is a sprawling industry. The length and breadth of the supply chain is mind-blowing. With the pressure on prices and the reluctance of the consumer to bear the weight of increased costs, the time has come when collaboration is the only way to ensure effective and efficient delivery. Here we […]
Another revolution… really? There are probably too many revolutions happening in the oil and gas sector – the information revolution, the environmental revolution… and more. Is it hyperbole to suggest there is a revolution in the use of digital technology? Yet, there are some commentators that go so far as to suggest that digital technology […]
The shale industry is impacted by the levels of oil production in other areas. When oil demand is satisfied easily then the prices go down. This is a truth about the oil industry full stop – whether it is shale or traditional oil exploration and production. However, this is not the first question that needs […]
The problem of Big Data The oil and gas sector is no different to any other industry – it is overwhelmed by more analytics than it can possibly cope with. Big Data may seem like a term coined in management conferences – but, in reality, it is as much of a challenge to oil and […]
What are the causes of the increased confidence in the oil and gas sector? Confidence is high is the oil and gas sector. Stocks are on track to show the best performance since 2011. Recently US crude oil hit a 3-year high. Production is up, 22% according to the SPDR, and areas of underperformance have […]
The end is nigh A council in Colorado, US, recently voted to stop all surface drilling within the city and its limits. The case against surface drilling was the health and safety of the residents. Does this tell the whole story? Not really. The council has still approved fracking under the nearby lake as a […]
Oil and gas prices may be looking up slightly but margins are still incredibly tight and companies are constantly trying to make their operations more efficient. As there is so much data involved in decisions, proposals and forecasting, there were serious efficiency savings to be made in the way all this data was processed because […]
Palm oil has long been used to produce biodiesel as an alternative to fossil fuels but this supposedly environmentally friendly alternative has become problematic in recent years. Not only is it proving to not be as good for the planet as previously believed, the farming of it has seriously affected indigenous people in the areas […]
As oil prices begin to rise and exploration of the North Sea yields promising results, investment is returning to the area, in particular, with two large projects from energy big hitters BP and Centrica. These firms are injecting new life into this area by drilling new wells in mature fields and exploring new fields. Although there are environmental concerns about greatly increasing production from this area, this increased investment is predicted to be just the start in a return to interest in the North Sea.
Aviation produces 2% of the world’s human-induced carbon dioxide emissions and the demand for air travel is predicted to double over the next 20 years. As such, the industry is desperately looking for new ways to reduce their emissions, along with the energy generating industry itself, and this has spurred an interest in biomass-derived jet fuels. Although many different plant materials can be used to produce this fuel, researchers at the University of Illinois are working on engineering sugarcane to make it a high yielding, resilient crop ideal for producing far more energy than it takes to make.