The days are lengthening and here in the far north (relative to the rest of the world, that is), and we are seeing the first stirrings of spring. Once spring begins this far north, things happen fast, and everything turns green almost right before your eyes.

But this doesn’t mean that the latter half of winter is only about hibernating.

Since this year got itself under way, there has been an abundance of conferences, and this issue includes several reviews: The Society of Petroleum Engineers 14th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference – MEOS 2005 in Bahrain; Offshore Mediterranean Conference and Exhibition (OMC) held in Ravenna, Italy; IBC’s 28th Annual Offshore Pipeline Technology Conference and Exhibition (OPT) in Amsterdam; the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition in Amsterdam; and the Norwegian Underwater Symposium (NUS Norsk Undervannssymposium 2005) that was held Haugesund, Norway.

Also in this issue is an interview with René la Rivière, Senior Process Engineer with Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschapij (NAM), who discusses how he uses AspenTech’s HYSYS suite to monitor gas composition as it is transported in one of the three pipelines that comes a-shore near Den Helder and is treated at NAM’s facilities there before distribution to customers.

When moving into deeper waters, an optimal riser design is a key to a project’s success. The costs and resources associated with qualifying a deepwater riser design for satisfying the fatigue criterion can be substantial in many cases. In this issue we have a collaboration from DNV and Statoil that discusses effective riser design solutions for fatigue.

According to Toolbox Drilling Solutions, the exponential growth of the variable gauge reamer (VGR) has powered a race to develop better and more reliable VGR, tools and, along with the expansion of the global rotary steerable systems market, it seems certain there will be a major shake up within this part of the industry. Schlumberger’ contribution are a new-generation of while-drilling tools that dramatically improve drilling performance and well placement by providing a comprehensive picture of the downhole environment from multiple tools delivering real-time measurements to surface, which ultimately increases production and recovery.

Our market forecast report from Société Générale explains how the Atlantic Basin cold snap earlier this year sent oil prices soaring, and claims that this is one reason why funds have been piling into the market since the beginning of the year without really worrying about short-term prospects. Price increases that have occurred in the short time since this article was written seem to bear out the market’s instincts – will they continue to do so?

An offering from Bluewater reminds us that the main consideration for of leased FPSOs solution can be found in the lease contractor’s ability to operate the units spread over longer periods and various field developments. Read how the cost of building FPSOs and how depreciation must be spread over a number of lease contracts.

If all this weren’t enough, we also have this issue’s special focus sections on the USA and Sweden. All in all, you really can’t accuse us of sleeping around here…