The value of cooperation in resolving international river basin disputes

This paper reviews the phenomenon of international river basins, and concludes that the sharing of river basins between and among countries is the rule rather than the exception for the major river systems of the world. The growth of the nation state with rivers as agreed-upon boundaries, as cease-fire lines and as natural defensive lines has led to the carving up of most river basins around the world. More than 200 river basins, accounting for more than 50% of the land area of the Earth, are shared by two or more countries. When population densities were low, there was plenty of water for all and major conflicts were avoided. With the rapid population and economic growth experienced in the past few decades, conflicts over use of water are becoming more important. It is expected that in the near future such conflicts will become much more severe. The paper reviews the literature on attempts to analyse river basin conflicts and negotiate solutions. Some rudimentary game models are examined, and some tentative conclusions, based upon various game theory concepts of stability, are applied to the Ganges-Brahmaputra basin. The paper ends with suggestions on how to plan Pareto-Admissible outcomes for international basins.     

Mineral development,financing and cooperation: New forms of international participation?

Although relations between direct investors and host countries must steadily evolve to meet continually changing circumstances, this should be within a broadly stable framework. The basic technical and economic characteristics of mining should dictate the nature of that framework. In contemplating their experiences during the past decade many international mining companies might ruefully agree with Benjamin Franklin that: ‘in this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes’. The aim of this paper is to highlight some of the important factors that must be taken into account by governments, international agencies and private investors contemplating large-scale mining projects. These inevitably dictate the forms of international participation in mining ventures.     

Competitiveness and prospects for the African mining industry

Since the 1960s the Kédia mines have been the main source of iron ore for Mauritania. In the 1970s SN1M, the Mauritanian state enterprise responsible for the mining of the country's iron ore, concerned about the eventual depletion of its reserves at Kédia, and at the urging of its European customers, undertook to develop new iron-ore deposits at the Guelbs. The deposits at the Guelbs, however, were low-grade magnetite ore as opposed to the high-grade hematite ore at Kedia, and were much more costly to mine and process. The cost of the Guelbs project and its failure to meet production targets have strained the resources of SNIM to a financial and technical breaking point. The paper suggests that one solution to SNIM's difficulty may be to mothball the Guelbs project and to develop instead other deposits in the vicinity of the Guelbs.     

Exploring co-management theory: prospects for sociobiology and reciprocal altruism

Co-management has gained prominence due to the sustained interest in participatory forms of natural resource management. While theoretical development posed an initial challenge, it has become an integral part of the co-management literature. This paper comprehensively explores co-management theory. It begins with an investigation of theory itself. The major elements of theory (concepts, variables and relational propositions) are described and a typology of theoretical statements (formats) is conceptualized. Co-management theory is subsequently charted according to the four schemes (modelling, propositional, analytical and meta-theoretical) which make up the typology. Given the maturing nature of the co-management literature and the absence of any meta-theoretical schemes, we examine the central and underlying assumption of co-operation through the science of sociobiology. Reciprocal altruism is pursued to explain why non-kin co-operate, and is adapted to elucidate the potentials and pitfalls of co-management. This meta-theory enriches understanding of co-management, provides guidance to the other theoretical schemes, and offers a foundational basis upon which construction of subtle predications is possible.     

石油企业管理创新问题探讨

随着市场竞争的日益激烈，石油企业要在市场全球化和经济一体化的国际竞争中求得生存与发展，最重要的是要在企业层面进行管理创新。简述了管理创新的内涵和必要性，分析了国内石油企业管理创新的现状，并指出管理创新亟需解决的诸多问题。在调查研究基础上提出了石油企业管理创新的重点和基本途径，指出管理的新生力量在于不断创新，管理创新是企业生存和发展的主题，这对提高石油企业管理创新的能力和水平有一定的指导意义。     

Petroleum Company Operations and Agreements in the Developing Countries

Book revewed in this article:
Petroleum Company Operations & Agreements in Developing Countries Author : Raymond F. Mikesell     

Industrial sustainability in China: practice and prospects for eco-industrial development

China is a large densely populated country undergoing rapid industrialization and is becoming one of the world's biggest consumers of natural resources. This circumstance provides a sharp contrast with other countries. As China is so significant in the global economy, studies of its eco-industrial development are very important. In this study we examined the state of eco-industrial development in China and have drawn conclusions from this analysis about some of the future prospects for sustainable development. In the analysis, we investigated the application of industrial ecology concepts by reference to several case studies. We have therefore described the current environmental situation in China, and have provided an overview of eco-industrial development and its implementation. Constraints to industrial sustainability in China have also been examined. We consider that eco-industrial development in China is in its infancy, and that closed loops involving chains and industrial symbiotic webs are the technological key and core of successful initiatives in the application of industrial ecology. In the case studies, we found that each system has different characteristics and management concerns. Our major conclusion is that even though China's Agenda 21 highlights the principles and sets the directions for eco-industrial development, these have not yet become essential ingredients in the country's industrial policy and practice for implementing Agenda 21.     

油田采出水处理工艺

本文介绍了采用混凝、过滤、炭吸附等方法处理油田采出水,通过对废水的处理满足了回注水及锅炉水质要求,同时避免了废水对环境的污染。     

The World Bank and Petroleum Development in the Third World

The issues that arise between state sovereignty over natural resources and the desire of the State to finance the development of its petroleum resources from external sources are briefly examined. The problem is particularly acute for the least developed countries. It is suggested that financing obtained from international agencies such as the World Bank, may provide a means for such countries to maintain full sovereignty over their petroleum resources and at the same time obtain needed financing. To this end the petroleum lending activities of the World Bank are examined both in terms of policy and in terms of the financial resources available. A special lending facility to help underwrite financial risk of petroleum exploration in the least developed countries is proposed.     

Water Consumption in the Production of Ethanol and Petroleum Gasoline

We assessed current water consumption during liquid fuel production, evaluating major steps of fuel lifecycle for five fuel pathways: bioethanol from corn, bioethanol from cellulosic feedstocks, gasoline from U.S. conventional crude obtained from onshore wells, gasoline from Saudi Arabian crude, and gasoline from Canadian oil sands. Our analysis revealed that the amount of irrigation water used to grow biofuel feedstocks varies significantly from one region to another and that water consumption for biofuel production varies with processing technology. In oil exploration and production, water consumption depends on the source and location of crude, the recovery technology, and the amount of produced water re-injected for oil recovery. Our results also indicate that crop irrigation is the most important factor determining water consumption in the production of corn ethanol. Nearly 70% of U.S. corn used for ethanol is produced in regions where 10–17 liters of water are consumed to produce one liter of ethanol. Ethanol production plants are less water intensive and there is a downward trend in water consumption. Water requirements for switchgrass ethanol production vary from 1.9 to 9.8 liters for each liter of ethanol produced. We found that water is consumed at a rate of 2.8–6.6 liters for each liter of gasoline produced for more than 90% of crude oil obtained from conventional onshore sources in the U.S. and more than half of crude oil imported from Saudi Arabia. For more than 55% of crude oil from Canadian oil sands, about 5.2 liters of water are consumed for each liter of gasoline produced. Our analysis highlighted the vital importance of water management during the feedstock production and conversion stage of the fuel lifecycle.     

Mineral development prospects of the Indochina area

Reform is under way in several nations within the Indochina area to stimulate economic growth and foreign investment. Though once forbidden, participation by foreign companies in mining exploration and development activities in Myanmar, Kampuchea, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam is now being solicited by the respective governments. This paper presents a preliminary evaluation of mineral and energy resources in the region and outlines possible development scenarios based on economic policies, financial and infrastructural constraints and industry interest. The investment climates for resource-related projects are assessed qualitatively by country. Clearly, the long-term development potential of mineral and energy resources in the Indochina area is large, and the potential gains outweigh any of today's problems.     

Havana's popular gardens:sustainable prospects for urban agriculture

With the collapse of the Soviet Bloc and its economic support in 1989, as well as the tightening of the US economic embargo, Cuba has been forced to explore sustainable agriculture as a source of food security. This paper examines Havana's popular gardens, an important feature in Cuba's recent emphasis on self-reliant agriculture. Popular gardens are small plots of state-owned land that have been promoted since 1991 throughout Havana and other Cuban cities in response to recent food shortages. The popular gardens are a unique form of socialist agriculture which offer valuable insight into urban food production during economic crisis. They have emerged in the absence of land markets, with active government support and with widespread community organization and participation. The continued success of the gardens, however, is contingent on underlying political and economic factors.     

Bauxite and alumina: trends and prospects

During the past 25 years the bauxite and alumina industry has grown threefold creating major change in the industry structure and reducing the dominance of the majors. Australia has emerged as the leading producer with a major third party alumina market developed principally by Alcoa of Australia. Future growth while, less dramatic, is likely to be substantial requiring US$50 billion to fund new projects which will be concentrated in developing countries with large bauxite reserves and developed infrastructure.