Almost four decades ago, in response to the Arab oil embargo and recession it triggered, Congress passed legislation restricting crude oil exports and establishing the SPR to release oil to the market during supply disruptions and protect the U.S. economy from damage. After decades of generally falling U.S. crude oil production, technological advances have contributed to increasing U.S. production. This book examines what is known about price implications of removing crude oil export restrictions; other key potential implications; and implications of recent changes in market conditions on the SPR. This book also discusses and describes the status of applications to export liquefied natural gas-natural gas cooled to a liquid state for transport- and the Department of Energy's process to review them; and the status of applications to build LNG export facilities and FERC's process to review them.

Founded in 1855, the Parisian Gas Company (PGC) quickly developed into one of France's greatest industrial enterprises, an exemplar of the new industrial capitalism that was beginning to transform the French economy. The PGC supplied at least half the coal gas consumed in France through the 1870s and became the city's single largest employer of clerical and factory labor. Representing a new form and scale of capitalistic endeavor, the firm's history illuminates the social tensions that accompanied the nation's industrialization and democratization. To study the company over its fifty-year life is to see industrializing France writ small. Using previously untapped company archives, Lenard R. Berlanstein has written a rich and detailed study that skillfully bridges the divide between business, social, and labor history.

Recent expansion in natural gas production has made the resource an increasingly significant component in the U.S. energy market. Further, a number of policies recently proposed and/or promulgated at the federal, state, and local levels may serve to accelerate this development. Examples of federal policies include U.S. Environmental Protection Agency air standards for power plants and vehicles, as well as bills introduced in the 114th Congress to promote increased natural gas production on federal lands, amend provisions in the tax code to incentivize natural gas production and use, and streamline the approval, permitting, and/or construction of natural gas infrastructure. Many of these proposals promote technology and infrastructure investments that could be significant and long lasting. For this reason, some stakeholders recommend a thorough analysis of the costs and benefits of these proposals as well as a full assessment of the economic and environmental impacts of increased natural gas development. Fuel-switching strategies from other fossil fuels to natural gas have the potential to impact many segments of the general economy, including jobs, investments, infrastructure, national security, human health, safety, and the environment. The net climate impact of replacing other fossil fuels with natural gas depends upon a number of analytic assumptions, including the choice of fuel, end-use sector, equipment, and processes modeled. This book presents a comparative analysis of the potential climate implications of switching from coal to natural gas in the domestic electric power generating sector. Furthermore, this book provides information on the natural gas industry and the types and sources of air pollutants in the sector. It examines the role of the federal government in regulating these emissions, including the provisions in the Clean Air Act and EPAs regulatory activities. It concludes with a brief discussion of the aforementioned outstanding issues.

Due to the growth in natural gas production from shale gas, the United States is benefiting from some of the lowest prices for natural gas in the world and faces the question of how to best use this resource. Different segments of the U.S. economy have different perspectives on the role natural gas can play. Suppliers, which have become the victims of their own production success, are facing low prices that are forecast to remain low. Some companies that have traditionally produced only natural gas have even turned their attention to oil in order to improve their financial situation. Smaller companies are having a difficult time continuing operations and larger companies, have bought into many shale gas assets. Prices have remained low even as consumption has increased, in part, because producers have raised production to meet the demand and because companies have improved efficiency and extraction techniques. This book examines what has changed in the natural gas industry and focuses on the demand side and ancillary benefits to the U.S. economy.

Within the next five years, the United States may become a large exporter of natural gas for the first time in decades. Increased development of U.S. natural gas resources, particularly shale gas, along with low domestic prices in recent years and idle liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure, have drive: change in the US. The United States has exported some amounts of natural gas for close to 100 years, but has generally imported more than it has exported. However, imports have been declining since 2005, while exports have been climbing. As the debates over the economy, energy independence, climate change, and energy security continue, Congress is beginning to face important questions regarding a potential increase in U.S. natural gas exports. This book examines the changes in the U.S. natural gas market and the prospects and implications of the United States becoming a significant net natural gas exporter.

What happens when a vast multinational mining company operates a gas plant situated close to four densely populated villages in rural Bangladesh? How does its presence contribute to local processes of "development?" And what do corporate claims of "community engagement" involve? Drawing from author Katy Gardner's longstanding relationship with the area, "The Gas Field" reveals the complex and contradictory ways that local people attempt to connect to, and are disconnected by, foreign capital. Everyone has a story to tell: whether of dispossession and scarcity, the success of Corporate Social Responsibility, or imperialist exploitation and corruption. Yet as Gardner argues, what really matters in the struggles over resources is which of these stories are heard, and the power of those who tell them. Based around the discordant narratives of dispossessed land owners, urban activists, mining officials, and the rural landless, "The Gas Field" touches on some of the most urgent economic and political questions of our time, including resource ownership and scarcity, and the impact of foreign investment and industrialization on global development.

Natural gas is considered a potential bridge fuel to a low carbon economy because it is cleaner burning than its hydrocarbon rivals coal and oil. Natural gas combustion emits about two-thirds less carbon dioxide than coal and one-quarter less than oil when consumed in a typical electric power plant. Additionally, improved methods to extract natural gas from certain shale formations has significantly increased the resource profile of the United States, which has spurred other countries to try to develop shale gas. If the United States and other countries can bring large new volumes of natural gas to market, then natural gas could play a larger role in the world's economy. This book examines key aspects of global natural gas markets, including supply and demand, as well as major U.S. developments.

The global market for oil and gas resources is rapidly changing. Three major trends --the rise of new consumers, the increasing influence of state players, and concerns about climate change --are combining to challenge existing regulatory structures, many of which have been in place for a half-century. "Global Energy Governance" analyzes the energy market from an institutionalist perspective and offers practical policy recommendations to deal with these new challenges.

Much of the existing discourse on energy governance deals with hard security issues but neglects the challenges to global governance. "Global Energy Governance" fills this gap with perspectives on how regulatory institutions can ensure reliable sources of energy, evaluate financial risk, and provide emergency response mechanisms to deal with interruptions in supply.

The authors bring together decisionmakers from industry, government, and civil society in order to address two central questions:

-What are the current practices of existing institutions governing global oil and gas on financial markets?

-How do these institutions need to adapt in order to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century?

The resulting governance-oriented analysis of the three interlocking trends also provides the basis for policy recommendations to improve global regulation.

Contributors include Thorsten Benner, Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; William Blyth, Chatham House, Royal Institute for International Affairs, London; Albert Bressand, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; Dick de Jong, Clingendael International Energy Programme; Ralf Dickel, Energy Charter Secretariat; Andreas Goldthau, Central European University, Budapest, and Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; Enno Harks, Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; Wade Hoxtell, Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; Hillard Huntington, Energy Modeling Forum, Stanford University; Christine Jojarth, Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Stanford University; Frederic Kalinke, Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University; Wilfrid L. Kohl, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Jamie Manzer, Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; Amy Myers Jaffe, James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University; Yulia Selivanova, Energy Charter Secretariat; Tom Smeenk, Clingendael International Energy Programme; Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University; Ronald Soligo, Rice University; Joseph A. Stanislaw, Deloitte LLP and The JAStanislaw Group, LLC; Coby van der Linde, Clingendael International Energy Programme; Jan Martin Witte, Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; Simonetta Zarrilli, Division on International Trade and Commodities, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

An Insightful Guide to Avoiding Offshore Oil- and Gas-Industry Disaster Designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining offshore oil and gas industry equipment and systems can sometimes result in accidents, injuries, and other serious problems. Safety and Reliability in the Oil and Gas Industry: A Practical Approach focuses on oil and gas industry equipment reliability, offers useful and up-to-date information on the subject, and covers in a single volume the most common safety and reliability engineering issues in the oil and gas industry. The book introduces the latest developments in the area, and provides relevant methods and approaches. It also presents important aspects of various case studies on major accidents in the oil and gas industry, and considers human factors that contribute to accidents and fatalities in the area of oil and gas. Additionally, this book describes: Mathematical concepts Oil and gas industry equipment reliability characteristics Accident data and analysis Mathematical models used for performing safety and reliability-related analyses in the industry Safety and Reliability in the Oil and Gas Industry: A Practical Approach covers important aspects of safety in the offshore oil and gas industry. A reference designed with engineering professionals in mind, this book can also be used in oil- and gas-industry-related courses, and serves as a guide for anyone concerned with safety and reliability in the area of oil and gas.