Just before going to press with this issue, we received notice that the Norwegian government would release the Integrated Management Plan for the Barents Sea and the ocean areas off the Lofoten Islands. So during the past few days, we’ve done what we could to include some insight into what could be a turning point for the Norwegian “Oil Adventure”.

So far, few are entirely satisfied with the Plan, which was presented as something for everyone. In a very real sense, putting together the Plan was a real test for this new coalition government. The platforms of the parties involved included planks that ranged from shutting down oil activity in the north to creating jobs via responsible development in the north. The coming months and years will show how the Plan will satisfy their constituents as well as the industry.

But that’s not all – we’ve got an issue that covers a wide range of topics.

Thinking about subsea processing? Then you should take a look at our article about the design, development and testing of the subsea separation system from FMC Kongsberg Subsea and CDS Engineering, which includes a robust, completely reliable sand-management system.

Also making recent headlines are the latest developments in Statoil’s work with CO2 injection. Along with Shell Norway, Statoil has asked the Norwegian parliament to consider a 10-billion-kroner plan to pipe offshore natural gas onshore, burn it in a new power plant and then capture its carbon-dioxide for injection offshore. Be sure to read about this plan for improved oil recovery that includes a significant carbon dividend.

We also have Roxar explaining how moving multiphase metering technology downhole enables operators to more closely monitor and control flow behaviour in wells with multiple producing zones. They explain how using mature multiphase technology reduces technology risks and results in proven interpretation techniques as well as the monitoring leading to a more precise modelling of the reservoir.

Enventure Global Technology explains how Solid Expandable technology has been adopted by the oil and gas industry since its commercialisation just seven years ago. The Enventure contribution outlines case studies that show how the North Sea is joining this adoption trend and applying expandables and other enabling technologies to develop mature assets.

During his recent visit to India, US President George Bush agreed to finalise a civilian nuclear deal with India, which is being described as historic and a “win-win” outcome for both countries. From the Indian perspective, we include an overview of this historic visit. This issue also includes our special focus on the United States and Sweden. These sections include only a sampling of the available products and services from two of our North Sea partners.

It seems as though you could every working day in the year attending one conference or another. Even though we can’t attend every possible conference, we manage to have a presence at many. So if you’re thinking about marking a few events on your calendar, our conference previews and reviews can certainly help. In particular, we have a more indepth look at this year’s OTC in Houston.

Enjoy this year’s OTC – as usual, it sounds like it’s going to be even better than ever.