President's Letter

Dear Reader,

The last thing you need right now is another dreary recitation of industry statistics that show how hard hit the global oil and gas industry has been in the last 18 months. So, I will spare you the gory details.

The fact is that, over the past two decades, new technologies have produced gluts of both oil and natural gas. For the downstream industry, this has led to abundant and relatively inexpensive feedstocks for the refining, petrochemical and gas processing/LNG industries.

In regard to the gas processing sector, the world is watching natural gas become the fastest-growing fossil fuel. Growth on both the supply and demand sides has resulted in the announcement of billions of dollars of capital investment across the world. These investments include the construction of LNG import and export terminals, cryogenic and gas processing plants, fractionators, pipelines and storage facilities, and tanker vessels.

Recently, we have seen a time of dislocation in the industry. This includes vast layoffs in the upstream sector, as well as abrupt changes in global production and consumption patterns. However, out of this time of change come many opportunities.

For Gulf Publishing Company, publisher of Gas Processing, we have had the opportunity to buy the company from the previous owners. During the year of our 100th anniversary, we are now an independent company with headquarters in Houston and offices in Houston and London. Our global media brands cover the entire market: Hydrocarbon Processing serving the downstream; World Oil for the upstream; Petroleum Economist for business and strategy of the industry; and Gas Processing in the midstream.

Gas Processing has emerged as a leader in providing cutting-edge technical information and data to the global gas processing and LNG industries. Over the past few years, the magazine has become known throughout the industry for its editorial integrity and in-depth technical articles utilized by gas processing professionals throughout the world. We pride ourselves on providing the best content to our readers through many forms of media.

Whether it is through the print publication, digital content, e-newsletters or events, we strive to produce the highest-quality technical content. This includes the production of the US Gas Processing Plant Directory; conducting events, such as our GTL Technology Forum and GasPro America events; and providing yearly market data forecasts for project investments, trends and trade throughout the world.

At the new Gulf Publishing Company, we have made several forecasts that you can count on:

1. The world’s demand for oil and natural gas will continue to increase, and the industry will continue to produce, transport and process hydrocarbons in ever more efficient and safer ways.
2. New technologies and processes will be developed and applied to increase efficiencies.
3. Gas Processing will continue to serve the industry, providing the latest advances in technology and best practices, as well as information to help gas processing professionals do their jobs better.

So, dear reader, I thank you for your devotion to Gas Processing. As I travel around the world, it is gratifying to hear from readers about the publication, the website and our newsletters, and how the information is interesting, and, more importantly, beneficial in their work. I also thank all of the advertisers who support this publication.

During our 100th anniversary year, I invite you to dive deeper into Gas Processing and GasProcessingNews.com, and to let us know what you think. We highly value your feedback. After all, our objective has been, and will continue to be, to help you do your job better.

John Royall
President/Chief Executive Officer
Gulf Publishing Company