[en] This article is a summary of calander year 1993's Uranium market activities. The prognosis for the year was favorable, with an anticipated rise to prices in the $10.50-$11.50 per pound range if not higher. This price rise never occurred, and reasons for the actual decline in prices are given in the article. These reasons included the rush of deals signed at the end of 1992 that artificially inflated demand and prices at that time. Additionally, many utilities have taken steps to maintain a much lower inventory, thus reducing demand and prices. Dumping of Commonwealth of Independent States' uranium in Europe at prices between $7.00 and $7.90 per pound was also a major factor

[en] Rumours persist about an impending shortage of natural gas, despite solid evidence to suggest that there are vast reserves yet to be discovered. The foundation for the rumours are the fact of increasing per capita demand for natural gas; insufficient financial incentive to vigorously pursue exploration since the easily discoverable reserves of oil and gas have been found long ago, and the cost of discovering oil and natural gas in more difficult formations have risen faster than the rate of inflation. Other reasons cited from time to time include the lack of present day technology that can extract the vast amounts of gas and oil in remaining reserves, and references to the exploding population of the developing world such as India, Pakistan and China, who are major users of oil and gas. It is not expected that nuclear power, wind, solar and geothermal energy sources will become fashionable in the near future, leaving hydrocarbons, and mainly coal, as the only readily available energy source. Although because of the high sulphur content coal gets a bad press, it is a fact that coal-fired power plants, equipped with modern scrubbing equipment, could meet the same pollution limits as natural gas-fired plants. For the moment, the power generating industry is reluctant to invest in the costly equipment for clean coal-fired plants, however, this short-sighted view may well lead to increases in the price of natural gas that will mimic the results of the OPEC increases in crude oil in the 1970s. These authors contend that if gas is wasted in power generation, society will suffer the reappearance of coal-fired home heating furnaces with all the attendant increases in air pollution due to the relatively inefficient combustion of coal in domestic space heating appliances

[en] Total North American demand for propane in 1999 was estimated at 1,700 MBPD, of which 1,300 MBPD represents demand by the United States. World-wide demand is about 3,500 MBPD, Europe and the Mid East combined, and Asia, each accounting for 800 to 850 MBPD. The United States is able to supply about 1,000 MBPD of its own demand ; the rest comes from imports. Total imports make up about 12 per cent of the U.S. supply; in 1999 just over 80 per cent, or about 120 MBPD of the imported propane came from Canada. The volume of export from Canada to the United states is expected to rise to about 170 MBPD, or 86 per cent of the total domestic supply shortfall in 2000. Prices at Edmonton ranged between 35 cents per gallon in Jan 1997, to about 42 cents per gallon in January 2000; during much of this period (from July 1997 to July 1999) the price was below 30 cents per gallon and as low as about 15 cents per gallon in January 1999. The price differential between Edmonton and Conway (the receiving point in the United States) was an average of 6 cents (US) per gallon. Total U.S. propane inventories during the same period and propane inventories against heating degree days and Conway propane prices are also shown in graphic form. The various graphs illustrate that in general, the price of propane at any given time is heavily influenced by the price of crude oil, however, in the short term competing fuels, weather conditions and inventory levels also play a part in determining prices. With regard to the future, a bullish outlook envisages flat to current prices, whereas a bearish outlook forecasts lower prices due to softening of the world economy, high U.S. and Canadian inventories, and the possibility of another warm winter. 18 viewgraphs

[en] Short communication

[en] The projected supply and demand for natural gas in five major regions of North America for the year 2000 was presented. In most regions, supply is expected to be greater than demand. A summary of how California dealt with an increase in natural gas demand in 1990 was presented. The California strategy included a readjustment of pipeline capacity, storage capacity and transportation. Whereas in the 1980s, when capacity was inadequate, the focus was on competition with alternate fuels, maximized capacity use, primary concern about reliability and only secondary concern about price, in the the 1990s, with excess capacity, the emphasis is on 'gas on gas' competition, efforts to satisfy the customer, primary concern about price, and only marginal concern about reliability. tabs., figs

[en] An examination of industry trends indicate a growth in the proportion of the gas component in the worldwide production of the three primary energy sources of coal, oil and natural gas. BP, as one of the leading North American producers of natural gas, is well positioned in all of the most attractive basins for growth in market share, and to maintain an aggressive leadership position in terms of price competition. BP's Alaska holdings and operations are outlined, including its gas-to-liquid technology facility, construction of which is scheduled to start in 2002. Development of Alaskan LNG in consortium with Phillips, Foothills and Marubeni, which is premised on the assumption of exporting the LNG to the Far East, is also reviewed. The project is expected to cost between five and six billion dollars, not including ships to transport the product. Construction of a gas pipeline to the lower 48 states to gain access to the extensive North American grid is also under study. Three routes are being considered; construction will employ high-strength steel, automated welding, improved pipeline monitoring, advanced computer control and instrumentation, advanced protective coating and operation at high pressures in excess of 2,500 psig. Current cost estimates range from six to ten billion dollars. The pipeline route through Canada seems to hold the most promise at this time. BP's position regarding construction of the pipeline should be finalized in 2001

[en] This paper presents the OPEC Secretariat's latest outlook to 2025 for oil supply and demand. The results have been developed using the OPEC World Energy Model, OWEM. The next two decades are expected to see increases in energy demand met predominantly by fossil fuels, with oil set to continue to maintain its major role. There is also a clear expectation that the oil resource base is sufficiently abundant to satisfy this demand growth. Global oil demand rises in the reference case by 12 million barrels per day to 89 mb/d from 2002 to 2010, an average annual growth rate of 1.5 mb/d, or 1.8 per cent per annum, over the period. In the following decade, demand grows by a further 17 mb/d to 106 mb/d by 2020, and then by another 9 mb/d to 115 mb/d by 2025. Almost three-quarters of the increase in demand over the period 2002-25 comes from developing countries. In the short-to-medium term, overall non-OPEC supply is expected to continue to increase - rising to a plateau of 55-57 mb/d in the post-2010 period. The key sources for the increase in non-OPEC supply will be Latin America, Africa, Russia and the Caspian. In the longer term, OPEC will increasingly be called upon to supply the incremental barrel. Uncertainties over future economic growth, government policies and the rate of development and diffusion of newer technologies raise questions over the future scale of investment that will be required. These uncertainties, coupled with long lead times, inevitably complicate the task of maintaining market stability. Medium-term prospects suggest that there is a need to ensure that spare capacity is not too high and that it is consistent with sustained market stability. There are genuine risks of downward pressure on oil prices, and this could sow the seeds of instability. (Author)

[en] Continuous upward revisions to world oil demand projections for 2003 and 2004 are compared with the downward revisions that took place in 1998 and 1999, following the 1997 Asian economic crisis. Demand leads supply, in the current case, resulting in a time-lag in the whole supply chain, while supply led demand half a decade ago, with the OECD's commercial stocks reaching record highs. Recent months have seen a reversal of the longstanding inverse relationship between the United States of America's commercial crude oil stock levels and crude prices, and they are now moving in parallel. The fact that the US market is now adequately or even well supplied means that factors other than inventory levels are causing the present high prices. These factors are briefly outlined. OPEC is doing everything it can to maintain market stability, with prices at levels acceptable to producers and consumers. The agreement reached in Beirut on 3 June is the latest example of this. (Author)

[en] Purpose: The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) conducted the 2012 Radiation Oncology Workforce Survey to obtain an up-to-date picture of the workforce, assess its needs and concerns, and identify quality and safety improvement opportunities. The results pertaining to radiation oncologists (ROs) and residents (RORs) are presented here. Methods: The ASTRO Workforce Subcommittee, in collaboration with allied radiation oncology professional societies, conducted a survey study in early 2012. An online survey questionnaire was sent to all segments of the radiation oncology workforce. Respondents who were actively working were included in the analysis. This manuscript describes the data for ROs and RORs. Results: A total of 3618 ROs and 568 RORs were surveyed. The response rate for both groups was 29%, with 1047 RO and 165 ROR responses. Among ROs, the 2 most common racial groups were white (80%) and Asian (15%), and the male-to-female ratio was 2.85 (74% male). The median age of ROs was 51. ROs averaged 253.4 new patient consults in a year and 22.9 on-treatment patients. More than 86% of ROs reported being satisfied or very satisfied overall with their career. Close to half of ROs reported having burnout feelings. There was a trend toward more frequent burnout feelings with increasing numbers of new patient consults. ROs' top concerns were related to documentation, reimbursement, and patients' health insurance coverage. Ninety-five percent of ROs felt confident when implementing new technology. Fifty-one percent of ROs thought that the supply of ROs was balanced with demand, and 33% perceived an oversupply. Conclusions: This study provides a current snapshot of the 2012 radiation oncology physician workforce. There was a predominance of whites and men. Job satisfaction level was high. However a substantial fraction of ROs reported burnout feelings. Perceptions about supply and demand balance were mixed. ROs top concerns reflect areas of attention for the healthcare sector as a whole

[en] The oil industry, like any capital-intensive industry with long supply lead times, is prone to price instability. Free markets in oil reflect this inherent instability, for prices are efficient signallers of imbalances between supply and demand. Free markets are desirable in principle, but entirely free oil markets are unstable. Volatile oil prices are undesirable. This article advocates trading some market freedom for more price stability, since such a trade off will be beneficial to the world as a whole. (author)