Editors Notes: ROGTEC Magazine Issue 19

Dear Readers;

Welcome to the last issue of what has been a challenging year for the global Oil and Gas market.

I have written in recent notes to you that things are looking more positive from both a regional and global perspective in the oil patch. This trend has continued with prices having risen to a recent high of ??. As production declines on many existing fields and with prices set to gain further so eyes turn towards new frontiers such as the Yamal region and the Arctic shelf.  The Russian Government, in what some see as a shift in energy policy, have invited “Big Oil” to pitch for business in opening up the Yamal region to full production.  There is still some concern from the international players regarding the business and investment stability when doing business in Russia, however, if a share of the fields are offered rather than an opportunity to be a technology service provider then financial and technological clout might be offered by Shell, Exxon, Total & Co. You would think the same would go for projects in the Russian Arctic; Russian companies are looking for additional expertise and experience in this area. I will certainly be watching this space with interest.

Focusing on the Shtokman project;  at time of going to press production has been delayed by 2 years to 2015. Total, one of the project partners, has cited extreme technical difficulties and stated that the original deadline was “impossible” to meet. With weak spot gas prices due to the recession and indeed new supplies swamping the market from new LNG projects and the shale gas fields of North America, I doubt we will see any complaints from Gazprom.

Looking forward to next year, we have the launch of our new title keeping us all busy. PowerTec Russia & CIS is all the talk in the regional power  generation sector and we are certainly not going to disappoint with our launch issue at Russia Power 2010. For more information please visit  www.powertecrussia.com. We are also launching a tender alert service which will bring together the tender announcement for all of Russia´s leading operating companies in one convenient and easy to use web page, alerting customers via email. Initial uptake of this service has been phenomenal; please visit our website for further information on how to take advantage of this.

On the show front, we have had a busy schedule. The latest issue of ROGTEC Magazine was showcased at KIOGE, 3p Arctic and at time of press we had a team in Turkmenistan for the oil and gas exhibition in Ashgabat.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New year; I think everybody is looking forward to a more prosperous 2010.