Petroleum Review April 2018

This month’s issue starts with a focus on Africa, looking at political changes in Angola, where it seems the new president is aiming to foster continuity rather than real energy policy reform.

Significant developments in fracking technology, horizontal drilling and enhanced oil recovery have opened a new era of opportunity for the unconventionals sector. We review a number of recent and pending projects. We also assess the potential development of gas hydrates – a fuel for the future or a climate threat?

Meanwhile, although the global portfolio of large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects is slowly expanding, CCS is still not on trajectory to meet the 2°C target set by the Paris Agreement and net zero emissions after 2050. Sticking with climate change issues, Dr Bryan Lovell OBE MEI suggests victory is in sight in the so-called ‘carbon war’ in the climate change debate.

Moving to the fuels sector, Shell provides advice on how businesses can lower the cost per kilometer travelled by their fleets, while Infineum provides an update on diesel fuel quality in the southern hemisphere and explores the rationale behind CO2 emissions policy targets in the European Union.