Ones and zeroes
Oil executives will have to invest in their digital futures in 2018 to keep up
The digital tidal wave is here. Whether it's monitoring home energy consumption using smart meters, remotely recording a TV programme on the set-top box at home while at the office, or hailing a cab using Uber, digital has already profoundly affected the way we live, work and interact with others. The oil sector is no different. Although some firms pioneered digital techniques in the upstream 15 years ago, the industry as a whole has lagged others. Digital providers are bombarding firms with bright ideas to apply across their value chain, from exploration to refining to logistics to retail. But few ideas have matured into a sustainable and scalable global solution. Innovative petroleum firms
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Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
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The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
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The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
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With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
