Economic woes to drive Greenland's hydrocarbons effort

Subject Prospects for the hydrocarbons sector under the new government Significance After three years of GDP contraction, a new government is pursuing increased foreign investment in hydrocarbons, to boost employment and growth and to repair the budget. In the long term, Greenland is likely to emerge as an international shipping, mining and hydrocarbons centre. For now, the fall in the international oil price has seen oil exploration stop. The wish for economic development is leading a new generation of Greenlandic politicians to embark on re-integration with the EU, where a ban on seal products is the greatest obstacle to closer ties. Impacts Infrastructure and climate challenges mean that full-scale oil and gas production is at least 15-20 years away. Emerging Greenland-China economic ties may create a new alignment in the opening up of the Arctic. A relaxation of the EU seal products ban would ease negotiations on Greenland's further integration with the bloc. Enhanced EU-Greenland ties could extend the EU's role in the Arctic.

Significance Trump’s victory in the US presidential election has created worries in Ottawa that a more protectionist line from Washington could further dampen weak Canadian business investment and export growth. The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced additional fiscal measures to stimulate economic growth, strengthen long-term economic competitiveness and provide more inclusive economic opportunities. Impacts Increased US oil and gas production could keep prices low, crimping the benefits of Canadian midstream investments. Backsliding on emissions reductions by Washington could sap political support for activist policies by Ottawa and other jurisdictions. US failure to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership would see Canada pursue bilateral arrangements with the Pacific Rim.


2000 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-96
Author(s):  
O. P. Lykov ◽  
S. A. Nizova ◽  
S. P. Valueva ◽  
M. A. Silin ◽  
E. E. Yanchenko

Subject Cuba's energy troubles. Significance With a previously generous Venezuela facing economic crisis and the United States tightening sanctions, Cuba’s ability to augment its limited domestic oil and gas production is severely constrained. It lacks the export earnings to invest in new technologies and power generating capacity that could ease its fuel supply problems. Russia and China have spoken of offering assistance, but neither is inclined to provide handouts in the absence of commercial returns. Impacts Cuba has tried to trade more with Algeria and Angola but remains vulnerable to international oil price shifts. As a major producer of both sugar and biofuels, Brazil could provide a model for Cuba’s biofuel plans. Cubans are resilient and accustomed to hardship; the country’s looming economic troubles are unlikely to trigger serious unrest.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-437
Author(s):  
S. Y. Chernitsyna

The article compares the problems of two strategically important regions for Russia — the Caspian region and the Arctic region. Despite the fact that there are some significant geographical and climate differences, the geopolitical situation in the regions is similar. There are almost identical risks in the development of these regions. Special attention is paid to the issue of ecology in the conditions of active oil and gas production. The question concerning the instruments of regulation of interstate relations is sharply raised. International cooperation is essential in addressing key issues in the regions, such as improving socio-economic conditions, energy distribution and border management. In particular, it is necessary to define a regulatory framework that would meet the new realities in the Arctic. As for the international legal status of the Caspian sea, it was settled by the adoption of the Convention following the summit in 2018. The main difference is that the Caspian region was exposed to the anthropogenic factor much earlier. The lessons learned from the work in the Caspian region can be used in the Arctic region, which can reduce some of the risks associated with the interaction of coastal countries.


Author(s):  
Shankar Sundararaman ◽  
Mark Cerkovnik ◽  
Luiza Ferreira ◽  
Phil Ward

Drilling and intervention risers are widely used for oil and gas production in deep as well as shallow waters in oil fields around the world for subsea operations. The risers come in a diverse array of configurations, some of which may be challenged by fatigue if operated in high currents or seastates. The suitability of the selected riser and the operating limits are assessed by conducting strength and fatigue analysis based on design codes such as API RP 2RD, [7], API RP 16Q, [9], and API RP 17G, [10]. Typically, drilling and intervention activities are conducted for short periods of time but used repetitively. The codes are clear about the return period of the design environmental event which must be checked to insure safe operation with respect to strength; however, assessment of fatigue integrity can be more difficult to determine. The allowable fatigue operating environment should account for the ability to disengage, the time required to disengage, the damage rates in particular seastates, prior accumulation of fatigue damage, and variations in soil, tension and internal fluid weights. In this paper, an orderly method of establishing the allowable fatigue operation limits for drilling and intervention risers is presented based on Monte Carlo simulations along with a case study implementing the methodology in a shallow water environment. To illustrate this concept, a riser with wellhead and conductor system is assessed and is subjected to directional loading from several long-term seastates. The variation in effects is studied by doing fatigue analysis for different durations: 3 days, 1 week, 3 months, 1 year and 10,000 hours.


Subject The outlook for the LNG market. Significance With major oil and gas reserves, and around 5% of global GDP, South America might in theory be expected to play an important role in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) business. It both produces and consumes LNG, but the factors affecting LNG production and consumption are national and global rather than primarily regional. In global terms, the region is neither a major producer nor a large market. Impacts With no new LNG production or export facilities currently announced, the region will not become a major producer soon. The Panama Canal will play a key role in facilitating LNG trade around the region and globally. For countries lacking material gas production, for example Chile, LNG will continue to be a key energy source. Growing gas production in Brazil and Argentina over the medium to long term may increasingly relegate LNG consumption.


Subject Russia's economic performance. Significance The GDP growth figure of 2.3% in 2018 announced by the economic development ministry is modest but still diverges enough from consensus forecasts to raise doubts about its veracity. The explanation seems to lie in the inclusion of previously unrecorded Arctic construction, plus high oil and gas production, and strong financial-sector activity, albeit the result of borrowing by hard-pressed consumers. Impacts An unexpectedly strong start to the year for oil prices will support economic activity in Russia. Global oil markets are currently more bullish than bearish thanks to fears about supply from Venezuela and Iran. Russia's state reserves exceed sovereign and private debt together, providing a cushion against external shocks. The nature and scale of further US sanctions will keep investors and government officials on edge.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Fay

This year marks the golden jubilee of Australia’s offshore petroleum industry after the first gas was produced from Bass Strait by Esso and BHP’s Gippsland Basin Joint Venture. For half a century our industry has been driven by technology – pioneering technical excellence and pushing the envelope in the pursuit of much needed oil and gas production. Today, the landscape in East Australia is changing and gas is at the forefront of the discussion. Declines in East Australia’s historical conventional fields have seen gas supply tighten and prices rise. There is a strong need for additional affordable and reliable gas supply. While continued improvements in technology remain a critically important enabler in developing Australia’s gas resources; global supply and demand, regulatory frameworks, and the commercial arrangements that underpin new developments are becoming more and more important. ExxonMobil Australia’s new Chairman, Nathan Fay, has a wealth of experience working with gas markets around the world. He will explain why it is so important for policymakers to establishment a stable free market environment to encourage these long-term relationships. To view the video, click the link on the right.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana Ivanovna Lapteva ◽  
Lyudmila Anatolyevna Kopaeva ◽  
Marat Nabievich Mansurov ◽  
Vladimir Ivanovich Efremov ◽  
Viktor Nikolayevich Ilyuhin

Abstract The creation of an effective system of rescue support (the abbreviation ASO is adopted on the territory of the Russian Federation) in the implementation of the processes of oil and gas production and transportation in the Arctic seas of Russia is an urgent and difficult task. The feasibility of creating such a system for offshore oil and gas production facilities is due to the statistics of accidents and incidents at such facilities, as well as the fact that the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation, in essence, does not consider the applicability of the existing system of rescue operations on platforms that are exploring and developing mineral and other non-living resources the seabed and its bowels. The successful solution of numerous problems of rescue support, including the requirements for the quality of the system, indicators and criteria for the effectiveness of the operations carried out, can be significantly increased by using mathematical models that make it possible to identify patterns in the processes of performing urgent work, improve the quality of planning, and, consequently, the efficiency of management of various organizational systems. Applied in many areas of activity, the scientific direction "research of operations" is advisable to use when system generation of rescue support within the framework of improving the system of technical regulation of oil and gas enterprises. Determining the effectiveness of a purposeful process quantitatively will allow, on a scientific basis, with the involvement of modern mathematical methods, to solve the problem of increasing the effectiveness of the use of forces and means of the marine rescue support, including the functioning of the emergency support system in the mode of daily and emergency activities, as well as the preparation of the necessary forces and means. The novelty of the presented work lies in the application of the provisions of the theory and the apparatus of operations research to assessing the effectiveness of the system of the marine rescue support, which will further serve as a methodological basis for the development of a number of documents and provisions that are of practical importance: methods, requirements for the system of rescue support, documents in the field of control over the rescue system, etc.


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