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Natural gas infrastructure is growing and global LNG volumes are set to expand substantially. This results in more trade between different regions of the world and emergence of a more competitive and relatively more integrated global gas market. In addition, several key markets are currently undergoing structural reform with the aim of opening them to competition. In line with these changes in the global market, gas pricing methods also need to be adapted. This paper discusses the challenges of natural gas pricing and price review in this new market environment. Firstly, the current structure of the global and regional gas markets is analyzed. Secondly, challenges in natural gas pricing and price review are discussed, and in this context oil-indexation and hub-indexation are analyzed in detail. Thirdly, the recommended framework for pricing and price review in the more competitive global market are presented. The pricing mechanism and price review framework should be tailored to the characteristics of the gas market and the stages of growth and maturity of the market.

The overall objective of this article is to analyze critically the legal instruments that regulate decommissioning of onshore and offshore platforms in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry vis-à-vis other jurisdictions such as USA, UK, and South Africa with a view to making requisite recommendations for improvement in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry. These recommendations are made against the backdrop of Nigeria’s experience of militancy in the Niger Delta Region between 1999 to 2015 which were necessitated by the complacency and poor or no Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mechanisms of the multi-national companies in the Region and weak oil and gas legislations in Nigeria. It is palpable that the militancy was engendered by political, religious, ethnic, and more importantly, economic reasons. The economic reason was anchored on 5 decades of irredeemable ecological devastation of the region by the oil companies exploration and exploitation activities. To this end, this work recommends that a comprehensive legal framework on decommissioning is urgently required to be enacted due to the fact that the 170 petroleum platforms in the Niger Delta Region are nearing their useful lifetime.

Blockchain technology can bring opportunities, such as reducing transaction business costs and increasing transparency to the oil and gas industry. This model is adopted as a public maturity model in business processes, industry, and IS/IT organizations. This model is classified into five levels of emerging, identified, defined, operational, and mature to identify the applications of this technology toward flourishing and providing the ultimate solution to most of the organization's problems. Therefore, this qualitative research has been designed to identify maturity levels to provide a conceptual model of maturity levels of blockchain technology in grounded theory. First, the initial factors extracted through reviewing the research background; then, by conducting semi-structured interviews with 12 blockchain technology experts, the data were collected. It is noted that the interview was stopped as the duplicated and identical data, based on grounded theory research strategy The meanings and characteristics of the blockchain maturity model challenges presented in three stages of coding. The reliability of the interviews has confirmed by the reliability methods of Test-Retest and intra-subject agreement. The results of data analysis indicate that experts at the emerging level to primary educating and technology monitoring, at the identified level, to recognize the applications of this technology and regulation, at the defined level, to develop a roadmap, proof of concept, and Feasibility, At the operational level, the stakeholder resistance, and at the matured level, the entry new members, the consortium, and increasing attention to maturity requirements, is a spotlight with more frequency than other indicators and elements.

Context/purpose: Factors affecting the technology, and innovation levels of crude oil treatment’s surface facilities, are numerous and extensive. Localization of surface facility as a high-tech Technology, which include oil and gas production and processing units, has always been one of the main issues, and technology management and innovation are essential priorities for these facilities. The purpose of this practical, heuristic, and quantitative research is to develop the studies and identify the current state of technology for crude oil treatment’s surface facility technology level in Iran and compare it with its global one. Methodology: Considering the wide range of factors that are used in evaluating technological and innovative capabilities with uncertainty. This research is applied in terms of purpose. Using a survey method and collecting qualitative data through a questionnaire, has led to descriptive results. This study by referring to experts and specialists, these factors according to their importance and priority in different classes of classification and then with statistical analysis, the relationship and correlation of these factors have been examined. For this purpose, 44 experts in oil and gas industry have been used for replying the qualitative questionnaire, then the fuzzy system model has been used to investigate the uncertainty in their answers and Quantitative results. Findings: The results of this study show that the most influential factors in surface facilities such as technological and innovative factors and managerial potential and human resources, etc. are not at an acceptable level compared to developed countries. Conclusion: The analysis of uncertainty between opinions of experts and factors investigated also confirms that attention to innovation and technology capacity and Technology capability and human resources in the National Iranian Oil Company should be increased.