My file of Rule 144A representation letters has been growing fatter, and I‘m not sure why.

I would have hoped that by now there would be just one great form that I could point to, and recycle the rest of them. After all, it should be kind of simple – investor represents to broker-dealer that it’s a QIB. The broker-dealer files the letter in a safe spot, and the purchase price for the securities is wired. (Maybe there’s also a closing dinner?)

So, why are so many forms floating around?

Aside from many lawyers’ natural instinct to add text and make comments, there are a variety of reasons why some letters differ from one another.

Additional Legal Qualifications. The representation letter may need to cover more ground than just QIB status. For example, the relevant securities that are being offered may be limited to “qualified purchasers” under the 1940 Act, “eligible contract participants” for commodities purposes, etc.

FINRA Suitability Rules. By selling to an “institutional account” that is exercising independent judgment, a broker-dealer may have fewer obligations under FINRA’s suitability rules. For example, the broker-dealer may be selling to a registered investment adviser that is exercising investment discretion for one of its customers. The broker-dealer may wish to have the investor acknowledge this, in order to help document and record the broker-dealer’s process in making the sale.

Are You Sure You Know What You’re Doing? A key notion behind Rule 144A is that QIBs are more likely to understand what they are buying. Still, in the event of a complex transaction, the broker-dealer may often want to memorialize this point. Similarly, in the case of a reverse inquiry transaction, it may be worthwhile to note that the terms were proposed by the investor, and not the issuer. In the case of an offering of a structured product with a complex underlier, such as the broker-dealer’s own proprietary index, the broker-dealer would often like the investor to acknowledge that it understands that underlier, and that it had all the information it needed about the index prior to making an investment decision.

Legal Obligations of the Investor. The investor, especially if it operates in a regulated industry, may be subject to a variety of legal and contractual obligations that may impact its ability to invest in different types of instruments. Accordingly, the broker-dealer may ask the investor to represent that it has done its homework, and confirm that the investment is permissible for it under the circumstances.

Long-Term Relationship? The representation letter may be intended to last for a long time, and cover many years of offerings, as opposed to a single discrete offering. The broker may want the investor to have a “duty to update” the representations in the letter if its QIB (or other) status ever changes.

Feeling Conflicted. In connection with a variety of transactions, the broker-dealer or its affiliates may wear multiple hats, and may (quite lawfully) have multiple interests. For example, the broker-dealer’s research division may have expressed a rating or recommendation as to an underlying asset that is the opposite of the view underlying a structured note. The broker-dealer may wish to memorialize the fact that the investor fully understood the situation, in order to avoid future claims from being made to the contrary.

Informational Advantages. A broker-dealer, somewhere in its organization, may have material non-public information relating to the relevant issuer, or the relevant underlying asset. Notwithstanding the existence of appropriate ethical walls, the broker-dealer may wish to have the investor record the fact that it was aware of this possibility.

Resale Restrictions. The offered security may be subject to a variety of resale restrictions under applicable securities, investment company, commodity or other laws. Violation of these transfer restrictions could, in some cases, involve the issuer or the broker-dealer in legal proceedings that they would obviously prefer to avoid. Accordingly, the letter may explicitly restate these restrictions, and/or obligate the investor to properly observe them.

ERISA Concerns. The broker-dealer and the issuer wish to avoid any implication that they are acting as a fiduciary to an investor that is subject to ERISA. Accordingly, they may wish to have the investor represent that it is not an employee benefit plan that is subject to ERISA.

Who Can Rely? The broker-dealer selling the instrument may have good reason to be looking out for the welfare of parties other than itself. Accordingly, the representation letter may include third party beneficiary provisions that entitle the issuer of the security and potentially other parties to rely on the representations that are set forth in the letter.


Oil and gas price volatility is as much a part of the energy business as drill bits. Few predicted that the current down-cycle would be as long or as deep as it is proving to be. While global events could turn and prices improve, lower prices seem to be a reality for now. Lower prices impact the finances of everyone in the energy industry. Insolvencies, business failures, and bankruptcies are inevitable in this environment; and when they occur, they affect everyone, at all levels and in all aspects of the industry. Though industry participants can’t change the price of oil, they can protect their interests in other ways. In times like this, fortune favors the prepared.

Bankruptcy Starts a Whole New Game

Bankruptcy effectively creates a new entity at the time the petition is filed — the bankruptcy estate. The bankruptcy filing freezes the debtor’s estate and sets the board for the rest of the game. Bankruptcy rules create priorities for who gets the best treatment from the limited resources of the bankruptcy estate. While the rules are complex, in general they strongly favor parties,(debtors and creditors), who take the necessary steps to protect and perfect their interests prior to the time bankruptcy is filed. Conversely, they severely penalize the complacent.

The following are a few basic rules unique to the bankruptcy game and strategies to help you come out on top.

Rules of the Bankruptcy Game

Automatic Stay

The filing of a bankruptcy petition automatically “stays” actions against the debtor, the property of the debtor, or the property of the estate. 11 U.S.C. § 362. The stay bars virtually all creditor activity against the debtor, including obtaining, perfecting or enforcing liens. It generally applies until the bankruptcy case terminates or until the Court enters an order granting a creditor’s motion to lift the stay as to particular action by a particular creditor. To obtain an order lifting the stay, the creditor must prove a ground for doing so under the Bankruptcy Code. With limited exceptions actions that violate the automatic stay are voidable and may subject the violator to actual and punitive damages.

Preferential and Fraudulent Transfer Avoidance

A trustee in bankruptcy has power to undo actions taken before the filing of the bankruptcy petition including preferential or fraudulent transfers. If you have received money or property under circumstances that constitute a preference or fraudulent transfer, you may be required to pay that money back to the bankruptcy estate. Preferential transfers include certain payments or transfers of property to creditors, while fraudulent transfers are those transfers made with the intent to hide assets or for less than fair market value.

Preferential Transfers

A transfer is preferential if it is (i) to or for the benefit of a creditor;

(ii) on account of an antecedent debt; (iii) made while the debtor is insolvent; (iv) made on or within ninety days of the petition date or within one year if the creditor at the time of the transfer was an insider; and (v) allows the creditor to receive more than the creditor would receive in liquidation.

Fraudulent Transfers

Fraudulent transfers include those that are actually fraudulent — made with “actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud” creditors and in some cases those that are constructively fraudulent if the debtor received less than “reasonably equivalent value” in exchange and was either actually insolvent on the date that such transfer was made or became insolvent as a result of such transfer. The trustee may avoid fraudulent transfers occurring up to two years prior to the filing of bankruptcy. The trustee can also apply State law, such as the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act or the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyances Act, to avoid certain transfers occurring even earlier.

Executory Contracts

Executory contracts, those requiring continuing performance such as JOA’s and Joint Development Agreements, can be assumed or rejected by a bankruptcy trustee. Effectively, the debtor is allowed to reject burdensome executory contracts and assume those that are to its benefit. Further, an executory contract is not enforceable against a debtor prior to its assumption, but is enforceable by the debtor. If a debtor elects to assume the benefits of an executory contract, it is required to perform all of its obligations — including remedying any unfulfilled obligations.

Winning Game Strategy

Record & Perfect Liens Early

Properly perfecting security interests should be a top priority since a secured creditor collects payment before unsecured creditors. Proper perfection of a security interest depends on state law and the type of lien and property. In most jurisdictions this includes recording an executed and acknowledged memorandum of the interest that meets state law requirements to perfect the liens and security interests; is filed in the public records of the county where the property is located; and filing a properly completed financing statement with the appropriate U.C.C. filing office. Failure to strictly follow the applicable perfection requirements may result in loss of the creditor’s secured status. Once a petition in bankruptcy is filed, the automatic stay applies to prevent perfection. A party should not wait until the eve of bankruptcy to perfect its security interest, however, since the date of a transfer for purposes of preferential avoidance will be the date of perfection. In addition to the usual routine steps taken to perfect security interests and liens, it makes sense to have your documents and filings reviewed for sufficiency at the earliest indication that the other party may have financial concerns ahead. If there is a problem, it may be possible to repair it if you act early enough.

Be Aware of Preference Periods

As simple as this sounds, stay current in accounts when dealing with a party in the zone of insolvency. As an account becomes non-current (antecedent), payments made within the preference period become subject to avoidance. Current accounts generally do not.

Setoff Early and Consider Recoupment

The right of setoff (also called “offset”) allows entities that owe each other money to apply their mutual debts against each other and avoid “the absurdity of making A pay B when B owes A.” For setoff to be available, the debts must be “mutual” (between the same parties, standing in the same capacity) and must have arisen prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy case. Setoff rights are not unlimited. If a party chooses to offset within ninety days before the date of the petition, the offset may be subject to avoidance in part and once a bankruptcy petition is filed, the automatic stay prevents a counter party from off-setting without court permission. While setoff may be unavailable post-petition, when the debts arise out of the same agreement, a counter party may be able to equitably recoup its debt. The right of recoupment is narrower than setoff rights and will depend on the facts of the case.

Withhold to Protect Against Lien Exposure

Laborers or vendors involved in the drilling, operation, or maintenance of a well generally have statutory or constitutional lien protection for the services and goods they furnish. The lien attaches to the property involved. Though a non-operator does not have a contractual relationship with a service provider or a vendor, Texas law may allow service providers, as subcontractors, to attach a mineral lien against the non-operator’s leasehold interest. However, a non-operator’s liability to the laborer is limited to the amount that the non-operator owes the operator when the notice is received. Consequently, when a non-operator receives notice of vendor or subcontractor claims, the non-operator should consider withholding payment to the operator “in the amount claimed until the debt on which the lien is based is settled or determined to be not owed.”

Remove Operator/Take-over Operations

If an operator is approaching insolvency, the non-operators may desire to step in to continue to preserve production and avoid adverse consequences. Most JOAs provide for situations, such as an operator’s inability to continue operations, under which parties to a JOA can elect a replacement. Since a JOA is an executory contract, effecting removal pre-petition will avoid significant complication in bankruptcy.

Keys to Reducing Risk

Forethought and preparation are key to successful outcomes in bankruptcy. The time to prepare for bankruptcy is before it becomes inevitable.

If bankruptcy is filed, counsel should be notified immediately. Bankruptcy cases can move very quickly with unexpected adverse consequences for creditors.


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Hevea soothers are made from 100% natural rubber, from the rubber tree, Hevea Brasiliensis  which is biodegradable and from sustainable source.

They are tested with well know international companies such as SGS, Intertek and Bureau veritas, to meet standards in Europe, US, Canada and Australia.

Hevea soothers meet the safety regulation of EN1400, AS/NZS ISO 8124 & ASTM.  Each single soother goes through a pull test to ensure that it can stand the stress of usage. However, do always check the dummy and if any changes to it, discard it.


An Explanation How a Growth of Spectrum Takes Place in Institution Authoring

An Explanation How a Growth of Spectrum Takes Place in Institution Authoring

The rainbow gets its shades coming from the range as a result of representation with the rain water droplets with the setting. The phenomenon has acquired realization for years due to the magnificent manifestation that draws some individuals. The viewing of rainbow is much like the end result obtained as soon as sun light delivers its rays with a prism crafted from water supply (Sardar, 2008). The sunshine rays are confusing, nevertheless the droplets of water suspended through the atmosphere serve as prisms. Rainbow varieties from interplay of sunshine and rain water droplets while in the open area (Maunder and Moore, 2007). This section promises to identify precisely how the structure of rainbow unfolds.

Refraction of Array Colors

The water droplets are essential into the formation of rainbow as they break up the sun energy into 8 different colors. Together, the prism divides the white-colored soft into its 8 ingredients. Light-weight fluctuations its propagation together with the route whenever it moves from one channel to another producing its bending (Sardar, 2008). The bending results from the differences in your densities from the press including the surroundings and mineral water. Nevertheless, dispersion success due to deviation throughout the refractive directory. Refraction deviates in accordance with the wavelength of gentle as well as shades in the prism. Refractive index deviates in accordance with the wavelength and then a faster wavelength results in a greater refractive directory. The refractive crawl of water on to the greatest wavelength is focused on 1.33 when that around the least amount of is 1.32 (Maunder and Moore, 2007).

Representation of Refracted Mild

This type of water droplets are spherical in form, and when stricken by natural light, the refraction happens on the outside before moving into the sphere. The white colored soft splits into 8 unique hues on the droplet when refraction rewards, then may get indicated for the different surface of the droplet following changing interior (Maunder and Moore, 2007). A knowledge will dominate that at the time of representation, the slope of reflection is equivalent to that of incident meaning that the shown light source moves inside a programmed course even though maintaining the difference while in the slope of refraction. The light should get refracted once more as it steps right out of the droplet, enhancing the dispersion additional (Sardar, 2008). Two types of reflection comes about, prime and the second. The first kind shows up from your chief rainbow and also the latter comes from a slightly dark-colored supplementary rainbow scatter the sunlight towards the six a number of hues perceivable by way of the man eye (Sardar, 2008).

The discovered group of friends or even the semi-group could be because of the audience of stopped droplets water around the ambiance. The droplets have the capacity for concentrating lighting dispersed at perspectives of deviation which ranges from 40 to 42 degrees with regards to the primary trail of lumination emanating with the sun (Sardar, 2008). The droplets application form an arc that is certainly rounded in good shape wherein every single droplet around the arc disperses mild and reflecting it backside with the viewer in addition. Each and every one droplet with the arc refracts and disperses the main spectrum of observable light – crimson, orange, discolored, light blue, environmentally friendly, indigo and violet. Outside the droplet, the red illumination obtains refracted at sharper angles than the blue colored gentle (Maunder and Moore, 2007).

This essay has prevailed in getting its target of detailing the development of spectrum. The actions acted upon inside this essay on the sub-themes have ascertained a concise advantages, clinical justification with regards to individual observation. Accordingly, we have a suitable familiarity with the manner that the creation of spectrum transpires.

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Fluoroacetamide Moieties as NMR Spectroscopy Probes for the Molecular Recognition of GlcNAc-Containing Sugars: Modulation of the CH–p Stacking Interactions by Different Fluorination Patterns

Luca Unione, María Alcalá, Begoña Echeverria, Sonia Serna, Ana Ardá, Antonio Franconetti, F. Javier Cañada, Tammo Diercks, Niels-Christian Reichardt, Jesús Jiménez-Barbero

Chem. Eur. J. 2017, 23, 3957 – 3965

We herein propose the use of fluoroacetamide and difluoroacetamide moieties as sensitive tags for the detection of sugar–protein interactions by simple 1H and/or 19F NMR spectroscopy methods. In this process, we have chosen the binding of N,N’-diacetyl chitobiose, a ubiquitous disaccharide fragment in glycoproteins, by wheat-germ agglutinin (WGA), a model lectin. By using saturation-transfer difference (STD)-NMR spectroscopy, we experimentally demonstrate that, under solution conditions, the molecule that contained the CHF2CONH- moiety is the stronger aromatic binder, followed by the analogue with the CH2FCONHgroup and the natural molecule (with the CH3CONH- fragment). In contrast, the molecule with the CF3CONH- isoster displayed the weakest intermolecular interaction (one order
of magnitude weaker). Because sugar–aromatic CH–p interactions are at the origin of these observations, these results further contribute to the characterization and exploration of these forces and offer an opportunity to use them to unravel complex recognition processes.

Myeloid C-Type Lectin Receptors in Viral Recognition and Antiviral Immunity

João T. Monteiro, Bernd Lepenies

Viruses 2017, 9, 59; doi:10.3390/v9030059

Recognition of viral glycans by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) in innate immunity contributes to antiviral immune responses. C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) are PRRs capable of sensing glycans present in viral pathogens to activate antiviral immune responses such as phagocytosis, antigen processing and presentation, and subsequent T cell activation. The ability of CLRs to elicit and shape adaptive immunity plays a critical role in the inhibition of viral spread within the host. However, certain viruses exploit CLRs for viral entry into hosT cells to avoid immune recognition. To block CLR interactions with viral glycoproteins, antiviral strategies may involve the use of multivalent glycan carrier systems. In this review, we describe the role of CLRs in antiviral immunity and we highlight their dual function in viral clearance and exploitation by viral pathogens.

NMR and Molecular Recognition of N-Glycans: Remote Modifications of the Saccharide Chain Modulate Binding Features

Ana Gimeno, Niels-Christian Reichardt, F. Javier Cañada, Lukas Perkams, Carlo Unverzagt, Jesús Jiménez-Barbero, Ana Ardá

ACS Chemical Biology 2017 12 / 4 (1104-1112)

Glycans play a key role as recognition elements in the communication of cells and other organisms. Thus, the analysis of carbohydrate–protein interactions has gained significant importance. In particular, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques are considered powerful tools to detect relevant features in the interaction between sugars and their natural receptors. Here, we present the results obtained in the study on the molecular recognition of different mannose-containing glycans by Pisum sativum agglutinin. NMR experiments supported by Corcema-ST analysis, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments, and molecular dynamics (MD) protocols have been successfully applied to unmask important binding features and especially to determine how a remote branching substituent significantly alters the binding mode of the sugar entity. These results highlight the key influence of common structural modifications in natural glycans on molecular recognition processes and underscore their importance for the development of biomedical applications.

Y. Y. Michelle Yang, Xiao Hong Li, Katarzyna Brzezicka, Niels-Christian Reichardt, R. Alan Wilson, Angela van Diepen, Cornelis H. Hokke

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases | DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0005339

Schistosomes express many glycan antigens to which antibodies are raised by the infected host. These glycans may therefore form potential vaccine targets. Unlike humans where the disease persists chronically if not treated, schistosome-infected rhesus macaques are able to elicit a self-cure process naturally. To find out if anti-glycan responses could contribute to the natural clearance process, we followed the dynamics of anti-glycan serum antibodies in Schistosoma-infected macaques in a longitudinal study starting from the onset of infection until 22 weeks post-infection, when the macaques had eliminated most of the parasites. We found that sera of macaques taken after 22 weeks of infection contained high IgG titres towards specific schistosome glycan epitopes highly abundant on schistosome larvae. Moreover, infected macaque serum at week 22 was able to kill schistosomula in vitro. Our results suggest that anti-glycan antibodies play an important role in the self-cure process and the acquired resistance to re-infection in Schistosoma infected macaques.

Pseudo-Mannosylated DC-SIGN Ligands as Immunomodulants

A. Berzi, S. Ordanini, B. Joosten, D. Trabattoni, A. Cambi, A. Bernardi and M. Clerici

Scientific Reports 2016, 6, article number 35373; DOI:10.1038/srep35373

DC-SIGN, a C-type lectin mainly expressed by DCs, mediates antigen uptake and can induce specific immune responses, depending on the ligand involved. Owing to these properties, DC-SIGN is an attracting target for approaches aimed at tailoring the immune response towards specific immunologic outcomes. A multivalent DC-SIGN ligand (Polyman26), containing at its core a fluorescent “rod-like” spacer and able to inhibit DC-SIGN mediated HIV infection in nanomolar concentration, has been recently developed by our group. We investigated the internalization pattern and the ability of Polyman26 to elicit innate immune responses. Results obtained by confocal microscopy indicate that Polyman26 is internalized by DCs via receptor- mediated endocytosis and is then routed to endolysosomal compartments, thus being presented together with MHC class II molecules, with important implications for the development of vaccines. Moreover, Polyman26 up-regulated the production of β-chemokines and pro-inflammatory cytokines (including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, and TNFα) as well as the expression of TLR9 and CD40L. These results indicate that glycomimetic DC-SIGN ligands should be further investigated and suggest that these compounds could be used to differentially stimulate immune responses.

Influence of Core β-1,2-Xylosylation on Glycoprotein Recognition by Murine C-type Lectin Receptors and Its Impact on Dendritic Cell Targeting

Brzezicka K, Vogel U, Serna S, Johannssen T, Lepenies B, Reichardt NC

ACS Chem Biol. 2016, 11(8), 2347-56

Targeting antigens to dendritic cell subsets is a promising strategy to enhance the efficacy of vaccines. C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) expressed by dendritic cells are particularly attractive candidates since CLR engagement may promote cell uptake and may further stimulate antigen presentation and subsequent T cell activation. While most previous approaches have involved antibody-mediated CLR-targeting, glycan-based CLR targeting has become more and more attractive in recent years. In the present study, we show that small structural glycan modifications may markedly influence CLR recognition, dendritic cell targeting, and subsequent T cell activation. A biantennary N-glycan (G0) and its analogous O-2 core xylosylated N-glycan (XG0) were synthesized, covalently conjugated to the model antigen ovalbumin, and analyzed for binding to a set of murine CLR-Fc fusion proteins using lectin microarray. To evaluate whether the differential binding of G0 and XG0 to CLRs impacted dendritic cell targeting, uptake studies using murine dendritic cells were performed. Finally, effects of the ovalbumin glycoconjugates on T cell activation were measured in a dendritic cell/T cell cocultivation assay. Our results highlight the utility of glycan-based dendritic cell targeting and demonstrate that small structural differences may have a major impact on dendritic cell targeting efficacy.

Paper NR-BL

Opportunities for glyconanomaterials in personalized medicine

Niels-Christian Reichardt, Manuel Martín-Lomas and Soledad Penadés

Paper NR

Rapid and efficient synthesis of α(1–2) mannobiosides

José J. Reina, Antonio Di Maio, Javier Ramos-Soriano, Rute C. Figueiredo and Javier Rojo

Org. Biomol. Chem. 2016 DOI: 10.1039/c6ob00083e

α(1,2)mannobiosides with different substituents at the reducing end have been synthesized by a common strategy using benzoyls as the permanent protecting groups and an acetyl as the orthogonal protecting group at position C2 of the glycosyl acceptor. The new synthetic strategy has been performed remarkably reducing the number of purification steps, the time of synthesis (less than 72 hours) and improving the overall yield at least three times with respect to the best procedure described in the literature at the moment. Additionally, this protecting group strategy is compatible with the presence of azido groups and the use of Cu catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) also called “click chemistry” for conjugating the α(1–2)mannobiosides to different scaffolds for the preparation of mannosyl multivalent systems.

Picture Paper Antonio


Gov. Brown signs bills on birth control, inmate rights

Bills to cover contraception for women and prohibit coerced sterilization of inmates are signed into law

Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed into law bills requiring most health plans to cover a variety of contraceptive methods, banning forced or coerced sterilizations of inmates in California prisons and giving felons behind bars easier access to DNA tests that could prove their innocence.

The birth control bill covers contraceptive drugs, devices and products for women, as well as related counseling, follow-up services and voluntary sterilization procedures.

Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) said her bill, which runs counter to the limits some other states are placing on access to birth control, ensures that Californians can obtain contraception without restrictions, delays or out-of-pocket costs.

She noted that federal law already requires employers who provide health insurance to include contraception, subject to "reasonable medical management techniques." Mitchell said that those terms were not defined and that her bill eliminates a lack of clarity.

"When a healthcare professional advises a woman of the optimal treatment for her medical or family planning needs, no health plan should stand between her and that treatment, nor make it harder for her to get," Mitchell said in a statement about her bill, SB 1053.

The bill limiting inmate sterilizations comes four months after a state audit determined that at least 39 women in California prisons underwent sterilization in which the inmate's informed consent was in question.

"Pressuring a vulnerable population into making permanent reproductive choices without informed consent is unacceptable, and violates our most basic human rights," Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), author of the measure SB 1135, said in a statement Thursday.

The measure bars sterilizations in prisons for the purposes of birth control unless the inmate's life is in danger or the procedure is needed to treat a medical condition and alternatives are not available.

It also requires a second independent physician to consult with the patient about the effects of the procedure before it is undertaken.

Brown also signed legislation allowing imprisoned felons to get DNA tests of evidence if they show that such tests are relevant to their cases, replacing the current requirement of a demonstration that it would prove their innocence.

The measure, SB 980 by Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), also mandates that law enforcement agencies provide information about the existence of biological evidence.

The new law "promises to help correct the unspeakable offense of a wrongful conviction of an innocent person," Lieu in a statement.

Another bill that Brown approved will require rail carriers to disclose more information about crude oil and other hazardous materials being transported through the state.

Under the measure by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento), carriers will need to notify the state of the weekly movements of oil shipments, including the volume and track routes.

The bill, AB 380, is aimed at preventing incidents like the high-profile accidents in recent years in Quebec and Lynchburg, Va., where derailments of trains carrying crude oil caused huge explosions and extensive property damage.

"State and local emergency response agencies face new challenges when dealing with this amount of hyper-flammable crude oil," Dickinson said in a statement. "Now our emergency response agencies will have the information they need."

The governor also signed a bill requiring more transparency about water use in oil and gas drilling. Substantial amounts of water are used in some oil-extraction methods, such as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in which water mixed with sand and chemicals is injected into rock to tap oil and gas reserves.

Environmental groups, which supported the measure, say California's drought underscores the need for more information on how much water is being used for oil and gas activities. SB 1281, by Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), will require oil and gas companies to report their water usage to the state.

In addition, Brown signed a measure to prohibit the state from displaying or selling merchandise marked with the Confederate flag. AB 2444, by Assemblyman Isadore Hall III (D-Compton), does not apply to images of the flag in books, digital media or state museums if displayed for educational purposes.

"Allowing more estate protection for the next generation may be a reasonable policy goal," Brown wrote in his veto message. "The cost of this change, however, needs to be considered alongside other worthwhile policy changes in the budget next year."
Twitter: @mcgreevy99
Twitter: @melmason

Copyright © 2017, Los Angeles Times
EDITION: California | U.S. & World


Subtle signs that hint to the truth

I am sorry, but I disagree with that entirely.

the sun, apparently the final frontier

Pseudoscience is a religion.

Then again, maybe I’m just ignorant.

Was the Tower of Babel Real?

Pyramid Cultures Built Triptychs

Go figure.

The thing is this…

Whatever, I’m ignorant.

Signs of the times, you don’t say

Everyone both Christian and secular alike are awaiting the end. As a Christian however there are two different types of End Times believers. In one hand we have the ones that keep their eyes to the skies waiting and knowing that it could all fall apart at any moment. And then there are the ones that know without a shadow of a doubt that the end is not going to happen in their lifetime. And with that, this second type of person doesn’t spend time looking at the signs all around them… because, why should they? They know without question that they will die of old age before some massive End Times event unfolds before them.

I have personally found myself in both groups during my life as a Christian. Obviously, when you first get saved the fire inside of you is not easily quenched. And because of that, you are waking up every day with your eyes to the sky, waiting for the promises to unfold and the chaos to ensue. But then, time takes over. Years pass. And the fire fades.

I have been a Christian for the better part of fifteen years. For a good chunk of that time I found myself in a place where I knew that the end wouldn’t be happening in my lifetime. As a result I found myself displaced. This displacement has an effect on you. You find yourself focused on life goals and “yourself” rather than what really matters… the hope of God’s promises. This lack of focus tends to leave you comfortable with your sins and removes any real desire for repentance.

So then, here is the question; if you knew that Christ would return sometime this year, would it change the way you lived your life? And as a Christian, your answer is obviously yes.

He could come at any moment.

With that said how then is it that I have finally come full circle and know without question that the end will happen within my lifetime? Well, all you need to do is stop and take a look at the times, seasons, and signs to realize the end is already on top of us.

This is happening for the first time ever on September 23, of this year. I will be 34 when  it happens. (note: a lot of things are happening in September. For example; NASA is celebrating 666 days in space that month).

If you don’t follow this channel I recommend it. They keep up with all of the natural disasters around the world and post them. The crazy thing is this; it’s escalating and they have something new to show us every single week.

So, apparently by the year 2045 Kurzweil has predicted that we will have either accepted the 2045 singularity of transferring your personality to an artificial carrier or face the dark ages once again. Go beyond ourselves and finally receive the luciferian lie of transcendence. If I am still alive at this time I will be 61 years old.

Now, if you keep these things in mind about the Pope I find it rather odd, and yet intentional, that Vice President Mike Pence has a Catholic Evangelical (two birds, one stone) background. Not sure how that works, but… if these things are true signs of the times, then wouldn’t it be strange to have a Catholic as president if something were to happen to Trump?

I would also recommend taking a closer look at the Pope’s recent activity. He has a very universalistic agenda.

Let’s face it. With trump in office, anything could happen. And we all know it. And when you consider the fact that Trump is currently overseas and will have been the first president in more than 50 years to visit Vatican City to speak with the Pope, I can’t help but smile. I don’t believe in coincidence.

This parade is 90% CGI nonsense. The scary thing about this is the fact that the masses are buying it. With that said, how is it that NASA’s budget for 2017 is $19 billion dollars. And yet, they are still using green screens. And again, the masses are buying it.

The age of deception is already on top of us!!! Most of what we are presented as a mass populous is fake. Don’t believe me, just ask the White Helmets and this apparent manikin challenge.

I know that the end is here and that it will happen in my lifetime simply because I am actually looking around. This year we have an epic never before seen biblical sign occurring. The Pope is a universal religion advocate that may be the last. Trump is a ticking time bomb with a Vice President that has a Catholic background. Most of the truth today is fake CGI. And by the time I am 61 the world will have ushered in the mark of the beast for the sake of transcendence.

Heck… just ask Stephen Hawking and his new show that is about to come out where he is basically saying that humanity only has about 100 years left before it’s all over.

I couldn’t make this stuff up if I wanted to. I must be ignorant.


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Re: search result highlighting and accessibility

From: Simius Puer
Date: Apr 21, 2010 11:18AM

I would tend to agree that the purpose of the highlighting is to draw the
users attention to the given content - that is it's purpose.

I don't agree that marking these instances up with <strong> or <em> is
necessarily correct as it *could* potentially change the semantic meaning of
the text. However, achieving the same effect through CSS styling on an
inline element would be perfectly acceptable. Also, being exceptionally
colour-blind I can tell you highlighting works just fine as a visual
solution - we can "see" colour we can't necessarily tell you what it is -
but a word highlighted will still stand out enough (obviously check your
colour contrasts and do real-world testing!).

As for non-sighted users there is one solution I worked on a while back that
I really liked and so did many of the users we tested it on. It goes
something like this:

1. Inject a visually hidden section into the top of the search results
offering anchor links to the search terms
2. Inject anchors into the text intelligently - usually at the beginning
of the paragraph/sentence that included search term (and explain this in the
visually hidden section mentioned above) as jumping directly to the search
term is usually meaningless.

Some of the more savvy AT users tested simply used their preferred method to
"find on this page" but many of those not quite so adept found the solution
worked well.

Of course, this was done using an enterprise level CMS with an integrated
search engine so it might not be a solution that everyone could use. The
description here is also a little simplified as the full solution was quite
complex, but it covers the important aspects.

This also failed miserably if the search results included PDFs (or other
non-HTML format) as you would expect, but we were also in the process of
stamping those out and allowed them to be filtered from the search results
(as surprisingly popular filter as it turned out!).

I wonder if there is any search engine company out there who could deliver a
fully accessible search 3rd party solution that could do this? Anyone on
this list represent such a company? Anyone from Google, perhaps (and, yes,
I do know they regularly get slated for accessibility issues)??


Exactus Advisors

Case Study

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ERP Implementation

Business Problem:

Bemis Leadership engaged our team to evaluate the SAP program and recommend a path forward.  The team leveraged its proprietary RIsk Control System to quickly analyze the program and develop a road map to deploy the solution to the remaining locations.

The team implemented recommendations to address the challenges across the solution, communications, technical architecture, and program management. We revised the original delivery approach by logically grouping the functionality into releases and setting a deployment schedule and site sequence to complete the program. Our team instilled a set of best practices and program controls to help measure and manage the program, which in turn has produced more accountability and rigor across the company.

After re-launching the SAP Program, Bemis has been able to successfully hit each of the major milestones, setting the program on a trajectory for success. As part of the recommendations, our team lead the initiative to upgrade the SAP landscapes to stay within the vendors maintenance windows and establish a scalable infrastructure. We also developed the conceptual architecture and strategy to build an information backbone, enabling business flexibility including future company acquisitions.


Geology And Global Energy Resources Environmental Sciences

Essay add: 27-11-2017, 19:59   /   Views: 8

Energy can be generally classified as non-renewable and renewable. Over 85% of the energy used in the world is from non-renewable supplies which is the focus of this assignment. Energy is used for transportation, manufacturing, electricity generation, heating and cooking. Most developed nations are dependent on non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels and nuclear power. These sources are called non-renewable because they cannot be renewed or regenerated quickly enough to keep pace with their use. Some sources of energy are renewable, e.g. solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, biomass, and wind. Industrialized nations depend on non-renewable energy sources.

In 19th century, the industrial revolution in Europe evoked the man's search for alternative sources of fuel to meet energy needs of the growing industries. Fossil fuels fulfilled these needs for the time being. Fossil fuels are called so because they have been derived from fossils. When plants and other ancient creatures died, they decomposed and were buried, layer upon layer under the ground. It took millions of years to form these layers into a hard, black rock-like substance called coal, a thick liquid called oil or petroleum, and natural gas -the three major forms of fossil fuels:

A soft, black solid that can be scratched with a fingernail. It is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and varying amounts of sulfur.  Coal formed slowly over millions of years from the buried remains of ancient swamp plants. During the formation of coal, a compressed spongy material called "peat" formed first which contained 90% water. As the peat became more deeply buried, the increased pressure and temperature turned it into coal (Fig. 1).

Figure 1: Coal was formed from the remains of ancient plants.

Different types of coal resulted from differences in the pressure and temperature that prevailed during formation. The softest coal (about 50% carbon), which also has the lowest energy output, is called lignite. Lignite has the highest water content (about 50%) and relatively low amounts of smog-causing sulfur. With increasing temperature and pressure, lignite is transformed into bituminous coal (about 85% carbon and 3% water). Anthracite (almost 100% carbon) is the hardest coal and also produces the greatest energy when burned. Most of the coal found in the United States is bituminous. Unfortunately, bituminous coal has the highest sulfur content of all the coal types. When the coal is burned, the pollutant sulfur dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

Coal mining creates several environmental problems. Coal is most cheaply mined from near-surface deposits using strip mining techniques. Strip-mining causes considerable environmental damage in the forms of erosion and habitat destruction. Sub-surface mining of coal is less damaging to the surface environment, but is much more hazardous for the miners due to tunnel collapses and gas explosions.

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the world with an estimated reserve of one trillion metric tons. Most of the world's coal reserves exist in Eastern Europe, Asia and United States. Currently, the world is consuming coal at a rate of about 5 billion metric tons per year. The main use of coal is for power generation, because it is a relatively inexpensive way to produce power. Over 50% of the electricity in the United States is produced by Coal. In addition to electricity production, coal is sometimes used for heating and cooking in less developed countries and in rural areas of developed countries. If consumption continues at the same rate, the current reserves will last for more than 200 years.

The burning of coal results in significant atmospheric pollution. The sulfur contained in coal forms sulfur dioxide when burned, contributing to acid rain. Harmful nitrogen oxides, heavy metals, and carbon dioxide are also released into the air during coal burning. The toxic ash remaining after coal burning is also an environmental concern and is usually disposed into landfills.

(ii) Oil:

All living things are made of complex molecules of long strings of carbon atoms. Connected to these carbon atoms are others such as hydrogen and oxygen (Fig. 2). Crude oil or liquid petroleum is a soft and sticky black stuff that contains many different molecules, but all are made of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Oil forms underground in rock such as shale, which is rich in organic materials. After the oil forms, it migrates upward into porous reservoir rock such as sandstone or limestone, where it can become

Figure 2: Organic materials are formed from chains of carbon atoms.

trapped by an overlying impermeable cap rock. Wells are drilled into these oil reservoirs to take out the oil and gas (Fig. 6). Over 70 percent of oil fields are found near tectonic plate boundaries, because the conditions there are favorable for oil formation.

Oil recovery can involve more than one stage. About 25 percent of the oil in a reservoir can be recovered during primary stage which involves pumping oil from reservoirs under the normal reservoir pressure. The secondary recovery stage involves injecting hot water into the reservoir around the well. This water forces the remaining oil toward the area of the well from where it can be recovered. Sometimes a tertiary recovery technique is used in order to draw as much oil as possible. This involves pumping steam, carbon dioxide gas or nitrogen gas into the reservoir to force the remaining oil toward the well. Tertiary recovery is very expensive and can cost up to half of the value of oil recovered. Carbon dioxide used in this method remains attached in the deep reservoir, thus mitigating its potential greenhouse effect on the atmosphere (Fig. 3).

Figure 3: Oil recovery.

Oil is stored in large tanks until it is sent to various places to be used. At oil refineries, the process required to convert crude oil into useable hydrocarbon compounds involves boiling this thick black crude to split it into various types of products. The products include gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation or jet fuel, home heating oil, oil for ships and oil to burn in power plants to make electricity. Besides its use as a source of energy, oil also provides base material for plastics, provides asphalt for roads and is a source of industrial chemicals. Here's what a barrel of crude oil can make (Fig. 4).

Most known oil reserves are already being exploited, and oil is being used at a rate that exceeds the rate of discovery of new sources. Over 50 percent of the world's oil is found in the Middle East; sizeable additional reserves occur in North America. If the consumption rate continues to increase and no significant new sources are found, oil supplies may be exhausted in another 30 years or so. Despite its limited supply, oil is a relatively inexpensive fuel source. It is a preferred fuel source over coal. An equivalent amount of oil produces more kilowatts of energy than coal. It also burns cleaner, producing about 50 percent less sulfur dioxide, it, however, does cause environmental

Figure 4: Source: American Petroleum Institute ( Figures are based on 1995 average yields for U.S. refineries. One barrel contains 42 gallons of crude oil.

problems. The burning of oil releases atmospheric pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. These gases pollute the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. Substantial oil reserves lie under the ocean. Oil spill accidents involving drilling platforms kill marine organisms and birds. The building of roads, structures and pipelines to support oil recovery operations can severely impact the wildlife in those natural areas.

(iii) Natural Gas:

Natural gas production is often a by-product of oil recovery, as the two commonly share underground reservoirs (Fig. 6). Natural gas is a mixture of gases, the most common being methane (CH4) (Fig. 5). It also contains some ethane (C2H5), propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10). Natural gas is usually not contaminated with sulfur and is therefore the cleanest burning fossil fuel. After recovery, propane and butane are

Figure 5: Methane (CH4)

removed from the natural gas and made into liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). LPG is shipped in special pressurized tanks as a fuel source for areas not directly served by natural gas pipelines. The remaining natural gas is further refined to remove impurities and water vapor and then transported in pressurized pipelines. Natural gas is highly flammable and is odorless; therefore a smelly sulfur compound is added during its refining to warn consumers of gas leaks.

Most of the world's natural gas reserves are found in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Its use is growing rapidly. Besides being a clean burning fuel source, natural gas is easy and inexpensive to transport once pipelines are in place. In developed countries, natural gas is used primarily for heating, cooking, and powering vehicles. It is also used in a process for making ammonia fertilizer. The current estimate of natural gas reserves is about 100 million metric tons. At current usage levels, this supply will last an estimated 100 years.

Figure 6: Pockets of oil and natural gas may become trapped between layers of non-porous rocks.

(iv) Oil Shale and Tar Sands:

Oil shale and tar sands are the least utilized fossil fuel sources. Oil shale is sedimentary rock with very fine pores that contain a waxy substance known as kerogen. If shale is heated to 490° C, the kerogen vaporizes and can then be condensed as shale oil, a thick viscous liquid. This shale oil is generally further refined into usable oil products. Production of shale oil requires large amounts of energy for mining and processing the shale. Indeed about a half barrel of oil is required to extract every barrel of shale oil. Oil shale is plentiful, with estimated reserves totaling 3 trillion barrels of recoverable shale oil. These reserves alone could satisfy the world's oil needs for about 100 years. Environmental problems associated with oil shale recovery include: large amounts of water needed for processing, disposal of toxic waste water, and disruption of large areas of surface lands.

Tar sand is a type of sedimentary rock that is saturated with a very thick crude oil. This thick crude does not flow easily and thus normal oil recovery methods cannot be used to mine it. Tar sands can be mined directly if they are near the surface. Extraction from deep-seated tar sands, however, steam must be injected into the reservoir to make the oil flow better and push it toward the recovery well. The energy cost for producing a barrel of tar sand is similar to that for oil shale. The largest tar-sand deposit in the world is in Canada and contains enough material (about 500 billion barrels) to supply the world with oil for about 15 years. However, because of environmental concerns and high production costs these tar sand fields are not being fully utilized.

Nuclear Power

Nuclear fuel makes use of the radioactivity of some elements. The nucleus in the atom may spontaneously break down to release energy and produce fast-moving particles, atoms of other elements. In a nuclear power plant, the fission of uranium atoms in the reactor provides the heat to produce steam for generating electricity. Heat is produced in a nuclear reactor when neutrons strike uranium atoms, causing them to split in a continuous chain reaction. Control rods, which are made of a material such as boron that absorbs neutrons, are placed among the fuel assemblies. When the neutron-absorbing control rods are pulled out of the core, more neutrons become available for fission and the chain reaction speeds up, producing more heat. When rods are inserted into the core, fewer neutrons are available for fission, and the chain reaction slows or stops, reducing the heat generated. Heat is removed from the reactor core area by water flowing through it. The heat is transferred to a second water loop through a heat exchanger. The water also serves to slow down the neutrons, which is necessary for sustaining the fission reactions. The second loop is kept at a lower pressure, allowing the water to boil and create steam, which is used to power the turbine-generator and produce electricity.

Nuclear fission does not produce atmospheric pollution or greenhouse gases, so it was expected that nuclear energy would be a clean, cheap and last longer than fossil fuels. But unfortunately, because of construction cost overruns, poor management etc, nuclear power ended up being much more expensive than predicted. The nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in the Ukraine raised concerns about the safety of nuclear power. Furthermore, the problem of safely disposing spent nuclear fuel remains unresolved.

Environmental Impacts and the Cost of Fossil Fuels:

Several years ago, people were concerned that the earth's supply of coal and oil would be exhausted because of the continuously increasing world population and of the growing demand of developing countries for more fuel. This standpoint, however, has completely changed in this present time. The people's attention has dramatically shifted to saving the environment from the various forms of pollution caused by the continued use of fossil fuels. Today, the real pressing concern is: Even before the earth's supply of fossil fuels is completely used up, save the environment from being totally destroyed by pollution caused by the uninterrupted use of fossil fuels.

In his article "An Economy for the Earth" in the May/June 2002 issue of the Humanist, Lester Brown makes the important point that a "deteriorating environment will eventually hurt the economy," stressing the need for an environmentally sustainable economy. The fossil-fuel-based energy path that the industrial nations have stepped for so long isn't the boon that its advocates--especially in the United States--currently claim. Even in purely financial terms, its cost to the economy outweighs its benefit when a full accounting is performed. Worse yet, in light of what we now know, the disease and death it causes can--without exaggeration--be called criminal. Staying on the present path means that we'll continue the devastating impact on health while accepting the growing environmental disaster of a kind unprecedented in human history. There's a grim synergy here: global warming will increase disease. "It's not only going to be a warmer world, it's going to be a sicker world," says Andrew Dobson, an epidemiologist at Princeton University and co-author of a recent study from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. An acceptable new path requires a humanistic energy program informed by science rather than greed, which serves human needs nationally and internationally (Huebner, 2003).

Fossil fuels are one of the greatest threats to the environment today. Burning any fossil fuel means pollution of some sort. At present, the worldwide burning of coal, oil, and natural gas releases billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. Even if the fossil fuel is low in sulphur, the atmosphere contains nitrogen, which combines with oxygen at the high burning temperatures found in boilers, jet, or car engines, yields nitrogen oxides, which like sulphur dioxide, dissolves in rain to form nitric acid. Both gases are poisonous to humans.

Their burning contributes heavily to global warming, the pollution of the air, water and land, as well as the production of acid rain. When fossil fuels are burned, huge amounts of carbon are released into the air. This contributes to the greenhouse effect, causing the sun's heat to be excessively trapped in the atmosphere rising global temperature. Melting of the polar ice caps causes ocean levels to rise as well. This reduces the salinity of the ocean, endangering many organisms that are dependent upon a certain level of salt concentration to be able to live. It also poses a serious risk of many cities and settlements located close to sea level entirely disappearing under water. Mining and exploration for fossil fuels can cause disturbance to the surrounding ecosystem.

Literature Review

IEA: Fossil energy to dominate market through 2030 by Doris Leblond.

Fossil fuels will continue to dominate the energy system in 2030, despite reduced oil production rates. Projecting current growth rates forward, the two major renewable energy sources - wind and solar - will still only contribute a fraction of the energy from present coal production, alone.

Fossil fuels currently comprise more than eighty percent (80%) of the world's primary energy production (Fig. 7).

Figure 7: World primary energy production 2005 (EIA). Uses the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Agency (EIA).

According to the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2006, fossil fuels will dominate the energy market through 2030. The report says that the reliance on fossil fuel prevails both in a reference scenario as well alternative policy scenario. In the reference scenario, oil demand would grow by 1.3%/year during 2005-2030. The main demand for oil to 2030 will be from the transport sector. Over 70% of the oil demand increase will come from developing countries. The share of natural gas also rises, but grows less than projected in the last Outlook due to higher prices. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries share of global supply grows to 48% by 2030 from 40%.

Sources of demand:

The share of developing nations in this hike is 70% being economically fast growing countries. Oil demand rises more slowly in developed countries, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries, especially in Europe and the Pacific region but its worth mentioning that North America is the largest oil consumer and an absolute increase of 5.9 million b/d has been noted over the Outlook period. The share of natural gas also rises, but grows less than anticipated in the last Outlook due to higher prices. However, gas demand grows faster than coal, which sees the biggest fossil fuel demand increase but it does not overtake it before 2030.

Coal - by far the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, mainly used for generating electricity - also has a wide range of future production estimates. The EIA recently estimated global reserves at about 140 years at current usage rates, with production rising by more than half over the next two decades.

Transport sector will be the major utilizer of oil to 2030, which rose to 47% in 2004 from 35% in 1980. It is projected to increase to 52% in 2030. Although bio-fuels are expected to make a significant contribution to meeting the sector's needs, their share by 2030 will reach only 4%. However, report points out that new biofuels technology, could allow bio-fuels to play a significant role.

Petroleum Supply Sources:

"All the easy oil and gas in the world has pretty much been found. Now comes the harder work in finding and producing oil from more challenging environments and work areas."

- William J. Cummings, Exxon-Mobil company spokesman, December 2005

"It is pretty clear that there is not much chance of finding any significant quantity of new cheap oil. Any new or unconventional oil is going to be expensive."

- Lord Ron Oxburgh, a former chairman of Shell, October 2008

Oil supply is greatly dominated by a small number of major producers where oil resources are concentrated. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries share of global supply grows to 48% by 2030 from 40% now and 42% in 2015. Conventional oil production from non-OPEC will be declining from 2010 and the rate, but natural gas liquids production continues to grow. This leaves an increasing importance for non-conventional oil in total production and implying higher real oil prices. According to the Outlook, there are sufficient oil resources in place for the period up to 2030, provided that sufficient investments are made and that new technologies for improved oil recovery (IOR) or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) are available. Conventional oil accounts for the big share of the increased oil supply over the Outlook period where as non conventional resources-mainly oil sands in Canada and to a lesser extent, gas-to-liquids plants play a growing role. Canadian oil sands are projected to triple to 3 million b/d by 2015 and reach 5 million b/d by 2030. Heavy oils of Venezuela are also of greater importance.

The oil industry needs to invest $ 164 billion/year over 2005-30. Three quarters of this will go to the upstream but IEA does not guarantee that all investment needed will be available due to the certain constraints, which include possible impact of government policies, geopolitical factors, unexpected changes in unit costs, and prices and new technology could affect the opportunities and incentives for private and publicly owned companies to invest. IEA is particularly uncertain about the ability and willingness of major oil and gas producer countries to step up investment in order to meet rising global demand. Although the capital spending by the world's leading oil and gas companies increased sharply over the first half of the current decade and will rise further to 2010 but the rising cost may affect this trend.

The trend in the price of oil is harder to predict. Volatility in oil prices can be induced by the impact of severe weather conditions on offshore supplies, industrial strife impacting on short-term supplies, the threat of terrorist strikes against oil infrastructure, and political uncertainties in producing regions like the Middle East, Russia, Central Asia, Venezuela and Africa. As the crude oil and refined-product market remains tight over the Outlook period, IEA has revised the oil prices upwards in the expectation. Market may tend to show a decline in prices as new capacity comes on stream and demand growth slows down but prices could be driven up by new geopolitical tensions or a major supply disruption.

The Outlook assumes that the average IEA crude oil import price-$51/bbl in 2005-will average slightly over $60/bbl through 2007, then decline to $47/bbl by 2012. It would rise slowly thereafter, reaching $50/bbl in 2020 and $55 in 2030. Assuming a 2.3%/year inflation rate, the price in nominal terms would reach $97/bbl in 2030. Natural gas prices should follow this trend because of inter-fuel competition and the continuing use of oil-price indexation in long-term gas supply contracts.

Oil demand in global oil consumption becomes insensitive to shifts in international crude prices; implying prices would fluctuate more than in the past to future short-term demand and supply shifts. However, it is careful to add: "oil prices still matter to the world economy," which would have grown more rapidly had oil prices and other energy prices not increased, the impact being higher on heavily indebted poor countries.

Sources / References:

Montgomery, C.W, (2008), Environmental Geology, Eighth Edition.

Tarbuck, E. J. and Lutgens F.K, (1999), Earth -An introduction to Physical Geology, Sixth Edition.

Plummer, C.C, (2005), Physical Geology, Tenth Edition.

Leblond, D, 2006, IEA: Fossil energy to dominate market through 2030, Oil & Gas Journal. Tulsa: Nov 20, 2006. Vol. 104, Iss. 43; pg. 28, 2 pgs.

Huebner, A.L, 2003, The Cost of Fossil Fuels, Humanist; Mar/Apr 2003, Vol. 63 Issue 2, p7, 3p

Deal, W.F, 2006, Resources in Technology-Energy Perspectives: Another look at fossil fuels, The Technology Teacher, May/June 2006, pg. 10-14.

Nanji, N, and Klippenstein, M, 2009, The Energy System of 2030-Towards an Electron Democracy, McKinsey & Company, management consultants, under the title "Electron-democracy". Available in McKinsey's What Matters online publication at:

Article name: Geology And Global Energy Resources Environmental Sciences essay, research paper, dissertation