ReleaseWire

Although Italy is thought to retain moderate untapped hydrocarbons potential, bureaucratic and regulatory challenges are set to hamper previously outlined goals to reduce the country's hefty import burden. Despite the start of production from the Tempa Rosa field from 2017, we see only limited upside risk to our production forecast from current exploration and production efforts. While we expect increased reliance on liquifned natural gas (LNG) imports as new infrastructure comes online, we are not yet assuming all planned terminals will go ahead, given delays to other plans. We also see risks that Italy's sizable downstream sector will see further downsizing as the sector struggles under the pressure of persistently low margins.

Euromonitor International's Industrial reports provide a 360 degree view of an industry. The Industrial market report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the Manufacture and Distribution of Gas market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new product developments, packaging innovations, economic/lifestyle influences, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change.

Green Auto Lube has recently announced the availability of ancillary services at the most affordable prices. The services consist of everything from the most sought-after voltage support to replacement reserve,and even load regulation.

While there are efforts to stimulate upstream oil and gas activity, there is little to suggest that South Korea can develop significant resources, meaning the country is set to remain a key importer of crude and natural gas in liquefied form. The government is planning initiatives aimed at reducing oil and LNG consumption, though a safety scandal in the nuclear industry is driving demand of LNG imports to provide short-term cover for lost power generation.

Gas production from the Tamar field is expected to ramp up considerably since coming online in March 2013 and will make Israel self-sufficient in natural gas supplies for the first time ever. We expect stagnation in production growth through to 2015 as bottlenecks at the onshore receiving facility at Ashdod will limit production to 10.5bcm. This should be resolved by 2016 in sufficient time to take output from the Leviathan field where development will begin in mid-2014. Gas from Leviathan could flow from late 2018 with export opportunities increasingly likely from this point. We see comparatively strong liquids upside with growing condensate volumes from Tamar and eventually Leviathan. Furthermore, near shore licences are showing greater likelihood of condensate and oil providing upside for the oil reserves outlook.

Although South Sudan avoided another production shut-in only after successful diplomatic efforts, political crisis was again on track to derail the oil sector. At the time of writing, South Sudan was in the midst of a civil war, which had already interrupted production that had been on its way to recovery. While the outcome of the conflict was uncertain, it underscored our caution with regard to both Sudan and South Sudan, where above-ground risks remain extremely elevated. Below ground, a similarly bearish outlook could prove problematic for the plans to construct a pipeline from South Sudan's fields to end its reliance on Khartoum. Similarly, we are less than optimistic over Sudan's push for dramatic production increases, retaining our overall bearish view for the combined oil sectors of Sudan and South Sudan.

Sustained interest from major international companies in Ukraine's gas reserves provides some upside potential in alleviating a part of its import burden in the long run. However, a recent deal with Gazprom, which cuts natural gas import prices to Ukraine by 33%, poses risks to new exploration and production developments as the downward pressure on prices could weaken the profit margins of the exploration and production (E&P) activity.

while our oil and gas production forecasts are still fundamentally cautious given Argentina's poor business environment, we are turning modestly more optimistic toward the country's oil and gas sector. Indeed, its small steps toward reform have been met with enthusiasm by international firms, resulting in a number of investment agreements in the past few quarters. We do not discount the substantial risks inherent in operating in Argentina. However, its massive shale potential, and recent political signals that we are likely to see more orthodox policymaking ahead - at least when it comes to the oil and gas sector - suggest that the risks to our view lie to the upside.

The first LNG deliveries from Papua New Guinea's ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG facility, the country's first gas export project, are expected as scheduled in H2 2014. There continues to be new proposals for LNG exports, and with Total's deal in PRL 15, Interoil's LNG export plans for the Elk/ Antelope field may finally move forward. Gas projects will also offer some relief to a decline in liquids output, condensate from the PNG LNG project will give oil production a temporary boost.

Although the start of a number of small fields and continued interest in West Africa's deepwater are positive trends for Equatorial Guinea's oil and gas sector, the temporary recovery in oil production will gave way to gradual downtrend, placing the country's heavily oil-dependent economy at risk. While new discoveries could to support an expansion of the country's LNG export capacity, uncertainty over the market and infrastructure has rendered investment decisions repeatedly delayed. Notwithstanding the possibility of new discoveries, we expect both oil and gas production in the West African nation to gradually head lower over the course of the decade.

Malaysia's upstream segment could see good days ahead in the short-to-medium term as the completion of both greenfield and brownfield developments brings new volumes of oil and gas online. New gas supplies will underpin continued expansion in the country's liquefied natural gas production based in Sarawak. Consumption growth will limit some of the export gains to be made from growing output, though a reduction of oil and gas subsidies would see a slowdown in the rate of this. The expansion of its downstream capacity could be more challenging, as it would face fierce competition from neighbouring Singapore.

Thailand remains driven by a strong demand growth for both oil and gas which far outweigh domestic production. With no scope for the country to become self sufficient, it will be critical to develop the necessary import infrastructures and to maximise the country's below ground potential. With several delays already affecting the planned 21st licensing round, we expect oil production to decline over the long term and gas production to slightly increase or remain stagnant. Despite an uptake in exploration activities throughout 2013, an offshore pipeline oil spill which occurred in late July creates large risks of opposition to offshore exploration by a population already concerned by the risks it creates for the country's tourism industry.

Petrochemicals and refining remain the lifeblood of Singapore, with strong regional demand growth meaning there is potential for capacity expansion - although investment in countries such as China and Vietnam has led to increasingly fierce competition. Growing gas demand means liquefied natural gas imports are needed to augment pipeline volumes from Indonesia and Malaysia.

"Oil and gas Business Confidence Report Q1 2014" is a new report by Kable that analyzes oil and gas industry executives' views on the global economy, expectations on customer confidence, supplier prices, key business concerns, and how executives' future investments are set to change in Q1 2014. This report also gives you access to regional analysis of industry outlook, industry and company growth prospects, future opportunities, staff hiring, sales performance, and procurement budget allocation, and expenditure outlook. Apart from providing access to the opinions and strategies of global oil and gas industry executives, it also examines their actions surrounding business priorities, threats and opportunities, and future investment areas over the next six months. Moreover, this report provides a comparative analysis of survey results with Q4 2013 wherever applicable.

Ecuador, long a laggard for petroleum investment due to its above-ground risk profile, can be expected to make modest near-term gains in production. However, the incremental uptick in production is not matched by any commensurate growth in proven oil reserves. That is because exploration investment remains static, as the sector is beset by economic terms that are unattractive to many firms, a history of legal uncertainties and likely compounded by investors aversion to the risk of reputational criticism if they were to invest in blocks located within sensitive environmental areas of the country. Those blocks have failed to generate much interest and the deadline for bids has been pushed back several times. The country's government is trying to counter the corporate assumptions of risk with an aggressive courting of potential entrants to the country from Russia, and most notably China. Gas production is still predicted to continue to trend downward, albeit at a slower rate than oil.

Gas shortages continue to loom in Pakistan as the country awaits the development of required import infrastructure. With struggling production, a limited potential for significant increases in gas production and a lack of import infrastructure, the country will most likely continue to experience severe gas shortages over the near-to-medium term. Large expectations are placed on the March 2013 agreement with Iran on the development of the IP pipeline by 2015. LNG could also become part of the energy mix with two planned fast-track regasification projects, which if constructed, could see first LNG imports in 2015 at the earliest. We believe that LNG imports and the IP pipeline could ease the risk of prolonged energy supply constraints in the long term. However, significant downside risks exist to the completion of these projects The situation is particularly complicated with regards to Iran's global political standing, as sanctions on the country may prevent the timely delivery of badly needed supplies and expertise from Western MNCs. Domestic consumption continues to rise rapidly, boosted by the start-up of additional gas-fired power stations and continued use of condensate natural gas cars. While we do not believe it would render Pakistan gas self-sufficient over the next 10 years, the recent start-up of shale gas exploration creates a large upside risk to our forecast, especially as the EIA now estimates the country could hold as much as 3tcm in shale reserves. Similarly, exploration for shale oil could accelerate as it is now thought that Pakistan sits on nearly 9bn barrels.

Euromonitor International's Industrial reports provide a 360 degree view of an industry. The Industrial market report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the Extraction of Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new product developments, packaging innovations, economic/lifestyle influences, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change.

The main trends and developments we highlight for Indonesia's oil and gas sector are:

DonRay Petroleum, LLC, a privately held oil and gas company located in Oklahoma City, today announced the completion of the DRP Grace #35 Joint Venture well in Noble, County Okla.

Introduction

Euromonitor International's Industrial reports provide a 360 degree view of an industry. The Industrial market report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the Extraction of Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new product developments, packaging innovations, economic/lifestyle influences, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change.

MarketLine's Company Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Partnerships & Alliances and Investments reports offer a comprehensive breakdown of the organic and inorganic growth activity undertaken by an organization to sustain its competitive advantage.

Hydraulic Breaker Services is pleased to announce they will be the first US company to unveil Bretec Hydraulic Breaker range. The company, recognized in the supply and aftercare of hydraulic attachments, will extend its product portfolio, by introducing the new range of hydraulic breakers at the ConExpo-Con/Agg exhibition in Las Vegas (4 to 8 March 2014).

This report is the result of Timetric's extensive market research covering the paylater cards market in Chile. It contains detailed data on market dynamics along with latest industry happenings, industry players in Chile. "Chile Paylater Cards: Market Update" provides a top-level overview and detailed insight into the operating environment of the paylater cards market in Chile. It is an essential tool for companies active across Chile paylater cards value chain and for new players considering to enter the market.

Herrington Global announced today that it has successfully launched a number of Gas Basis products on Energy Mix®, Herrington Global’s leading electronic trading platform for energy and commodities in Asia and executed a number of trades for clients on the system.