2007/2008 Editorial Note
A MEMO: TO FEED YOUR EXPECTATIONS
An author's most daunting task is not to gather his materials, but to gather his thoughts. We believe that a distinct paper on any issue in the Energy Industry is one which, with exploratory and creative design, pays attention to topical and contemporary events that unfold themselves in the industry, rather than immerse in commonplace repetitions as an easy route to the final conclusion. The pace at which the Energy Industry is undergoing notable changes and challenges informed the selection of articles for this year's publication as it depicts a broad spectrum of topical issues in the present day Energy Industry in both the upstream and downstream sectors. The categories cover Developments in Natural Gas, Climate Change, Fiscal Systems, International Relations, Trade & Investments, Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility, Project Financing, Regulation, to mention a few. These categories are discussed within both the extractive industry including mining and petroleum, and the power sector including Gas, Renewables and Nuclear. Furthermore, key countries like Venezuela, Columbia and Argentina in the South American region, Nigeria and Ghana in the African region, China in Asia, and Kazakhstan in the Caspian region are notable regions captured in this year's edition.
Over the years, the CEPMLP has embraced her trademark tradition of equipping students with the inviolable skill of qualitative research writing on issues in the international energy industry, especially in the contexts of policy and commercial transactions. Moreover, a wealth of industry experience from students also form a good representation of papers from the Centre. This year is a continuation of that tradition as another set of papers that combine both teaching and experience are presented.
The Process & Challenges
We have been honoured to work as a team in bringing this compilation to fruition. We have also worked with a team of editorial board members towards this end. We must not however fail to mention that we faced notable challenges in the course of this work. We have had to evaluate and re-evaluate while keeping clear focus on our objectives. In the end, we had to make one of the most difficult decisions; which is to actually make a final decision in the selection process. While we were guided by benchmarks including, topical evaluation with regards to relevance to industry; structure as well as substantive evaluation on accuracies; quality analysis and reasoning exposition, we have also had to employ our judgment in ascertaining the gradations that meet these criteria. A total of 46 papers are published in this year's edition.
Appreciation
We are grateful to the CEPMLP Director; Prof. Andrews-Speed for providing the right working conditions and giving us his unreserved encouragement and support. Gratitude also goes our Co-ordinators, Dr. Arthur Warden and Mrs Janeth Warden-Fernandez. Dr. Warden's supervision even when it didn't always seem convenient due to his many commitments was an immeasurable mark of inspiration. Mrs Warden-Fernandez also showed similar supervision and direction in this regards. Our gratitude also goes to Audrey McLaughlin for her administrative assistance whenever they were sought. We remain immensely grateful to the entire editorial team for their team spirit and selfless input. They have shown that commitment to tasks cannot be compromised if quality must be assured. They are indeed, a great team to work with.
While the topics are well selected for target audience in the academia, a key target group is students aspiring for excellence in the energy industry. We present the 12th edition of the CEPMLP Annual Review.
Ernest Enobun & Diana Bayzakova
Co-Editors-in-Chief (2007/2008)
CEPMLP Annual Review (CAR)
