Slow Season for Sales?
The holidays are upon us here at GVC and we are still striving to meet our goals to help you, the customer, meet yours. We are not running around the office with our heads cut off, (at-least not at the moment that is) The holidays are a slow time for us at Global Valve and Controls, but we look forward to kicking off 2012 and getting back to business as usual!
(One of our employees working diligently on research for the upcoming year!)
Women in the Oil and Gas Industry
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, "Table 18: Employed Persons by Detailed Industry, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity," women make up just 18% of the workforce in the oil and gas industry. Because this is a historically male dominated field which, for some, conjures up images of dirty, rig workers which means oil and gas is not always an appealing field for women.
The old boys mentality that is so ingrained in the field is a deterrent and tends keeps women out of top level positions, usually this is not intentional on the part of the company. In 2009 the oil and gas industry experienced a mass exodus of women in key top level positions, and currently less than 10% of executive and board member positions in oil and gas companies are held by women.
Source: http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/06/24/oil-and-gas-industry-called-out-for-lack-of-women-in-top-posts/
ExxonMobil presents Energy Outlook 2012
Where are we in the Market today? Regarding our business whether it is Oil and Gas, Energy and Power, Pharmaceutical, Agriculture and Food, Petrochemical, Pulp and Paper. Exxon Mobil writes their input in how they see the demand curve rise and fall for the New Year to come.
“Demand for energy will rise through 2040 as global economic output doubles and prosperity expands across a world where population will grow to nearly 9 billion people, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) states in its The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040, issued today. Extending its annual long-term energy forecast to 2040 for the first time, ExxonMobil said this year's Outlook reveals several trends that will influence how the world uses energy over the coming decades. …”
So, what countries are going to emerge?
“The Outlook projects that global energy demand in 2040 will be about 30 percent higher than it was in 2010, led by growth in developing regions such as China, India, Africa and other emerging economies….”
Besides the Oil and Gas Industry- what else is booming or on its way to becoming the norm?
“While oil will remain the most widely used fuel, overall energy demand will be reshaped by a continued shift toward less-carbon-intensive energy sources - such as natural gas - as well as steep improvements in energy efficiency in areas like transportation”
Read more: http://www.globalenergywatch.com/news/2913/ExxonMobil#ixzz1hIgkR7tH
OOPS! WRONG PIPELINE BILL PASSED
As the title speaks for the article, the government sure does know how to mess things up when it comes to bills being passed! They say “The House by unanimous consent late Wednesday agreed to the version they meant to approve Monday; the Senate is expected to quickly follow suit.”
(In the article http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70466.html)
Apparently the government seems to not understand the major impact that measure moved swiftly following multiple high-profile accidents. Last year a deadly explosion in San Bruno, California, killed eight residents and injured many more. In July, an Exxon Mobil pipeline dumped an estimated 1,000 barrels in the Yellowstone River. Now the bill has doubled to $2 Million the maximum fine for safety violations, “Where economically, technically and operationally feasible.”
If you ask me, the government is in over their heads when it comes to signing a bill to either pass or object, they cannot make up their minds and it’s heart breaking to know that this is what we the American people are dealing with. We may have a Freedom to state our opinions but for this – I do believe we have said enough and unfortunately we the Americans cannot get across to the government. This is a sign and they choose to ignore it!
Barnett Shale Region of Texas
Orion Petroleum and Petrel Energy recently executed a binding transaction agreement to merge. Petrel is a private upstream company. Orion will acquire Petrel for 115.1 million shares going to the current stakeholders in Petrel.
The groups first project will focus on the Barnett Shale region of Texas.
The Barnett Shale is a geological formation located in the Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin. It consists of sedimentary rocks in Texas. The formation underlies approximately 5,000 mi and at least 17 counties.
Some experts have suggested the Barnett Shale may have the largest producible reserves of any onshore natural gas field in the United States.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnett_Shale
Utica Shale
Utica Shale, a layer of rock below Marcellus Shale is quickly developing into a source of natural gas.
Utica Shale is a rock unit located a few thousand feet below Marcellus. It has the potential to become an enormous natural gas resource. Utica Shale is thicker than Marcellus, is more geographically extensive and is proving its ability to support commercial production.
Utica Shale has not been thoroughly examined however and it is unclear how it will respond to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking.
Source: http://geology.com/articles/utica-shale/
Keystone oil sands
On November 10, the Obama administration said it would delay a decision on the Keystone oil sands pipeline expansion until 2013.
The pipeline has been opposed by environmental groups, citing risk of spills but also would also keep the United States into dependency on oil sands, a particularly dirty form of oil. Supporters believe however; that jobs created from the pipeline would help boost local economy and the US could use the 700k barrels per day the pipeline would generate.
While Obama did not cancel the pipeline, the delay means the pipeline can not create much needed jobs for workers.
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/10/news/economy/keystone_pipeline/index.htm
Rigs into Reefs?
I won’t go too much into this subject, as I can go on and on, and there are different views on this matter. There are rigs all over the world’s oceans that are abandoned, or “decommissioned” and only until recently they are there to stay. In the past, once an oil rig becomes decommissioned, it would have to be removed, and natural habitat is to be restored. This process as you can imagine can be very expensive. Recently, scientists have found out that these “abandoned” oil rigs are actually a positive outlook on the marine life below. Fish have taken shelter under these rigs, and overtime has become their homes. Even though the homes are artificial and not part of their “natural” habitat, if the rigs are removed, the fish must find other homes.
I’m not agreeing that they should stay as other matters are involved such as pollution and oil leaks.
“Petroleum platforms are artificial habitats. Whether placed as an artificial reef or a working (producing petroleum) structure, they have been found to increase the algae and invertebrates that at-tract and significantly increase the numbers and species of fish….The program benefits petroleum platform owners by eliminating the high cost of transporting the structure for disposal. States benefit as the platform develops into an area that enhances commercial and recreational fishing, tourism, and the biological community…”
http://sites.google.com/site/petroleumhistoryresources/Home/rigs-to-reefs
Scientists confirm Himalayan glacial melting
“Scientists says the effects of climate change in the Himalayas could be devastating, as the region provides food and energy for 1.3 billion people living in downstream river basins…They follow a discredited announcement by scientists in 2007 that the region's glaciers would be gone by 2035.”
The Himalaya region is beautiful and filled with culture. I can’t imagine their culture thriving with the glaciers melting if this is their source of Food and Energy- Especially for a population of 1.3 Billion! We need to take note of this and understand that since it is happening there- it can happy anywhere.
The Transportation of Natural Gas
“The efficient and effective movement of natural gas from producing regions to consumption regions requires an extensive and elaborate transportation system.”
The transportation system for the Natural Gas is not for an immediate transportation, it could be in a storage, since the gas consists of a complex network of pipeline which is designed to transport natural gas from it’s origin, to other areas.
http://www.naturalgas.org/naturalgas/transport.asp
