Barbados has been producing petroleum since 1896 from machine dug wells with modest success. The fields that are currently in production are operated by the Barbados National Oil Company, established in 1982, as international oil companies (IOC’s) exited due to lacklustre production. Barbados has 3 active onshore fields licensed under a Mineral Lease Agreement, which includes the Woodburne Development Area as the main field as well as Scotland and Fisher Pond areas.

Rising gasoline prices affecting a recovering economy are now the primary concern, while the potential impact of Hurricane Isaac on domestic energy infrastructure has been added to a list of worries for the US government.

In a precautionary move, U.S. Gulf Coast refiners shut in more than 1.3 million barrels per day (mmbd) of capacity ahead of Hurricane Isaac’s Tuesday landfall. Refiners began shutting their plants on Monday as then Tropical Storm Isaac veered away from Florida directly towards New Orleans.

Mexico’s state-owned oil company, Pemex, is moving forward with its first new-build refinery complex in years at Tula.

News that PetroChina was in talks to purchase a stake in a proposed refinery in Ecuador hit the market in the last week in the company’s latest move towards expanding its global footprint.

Oil storage is a vital link in the midstream crude oil value chain, petroleum products and chemicals. Buoyed by the rapid growth of the emerging economies, the rising demand for crude and petroleum products, and volatile crude oil prices, the oil storage industry is expected to show an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 2.8% for 2009–2013.

While pipeline construction requires a substantial capital expenditure, it is fast becoming the preferred mode of transportation of oil and gas resources when there is a long-term commitment between trade partners. As a result, the global oil and gas trunk pipeline length is set to increase by over 100,000km by 2015.