The US refining industry is a leading producer of sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. As a result of the Clean Air Act, it has been subject to a host of environmental regulations that prescribe the production processes firms can employ and limits their emissions based on the permits they...

The report gives the details of the Ghanaian authorities’ request for modification of the performance criterion under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF)-supported program. The proposed loan involves borrowing at nonconcessional terms. The authorities’ request is with the intention...

Heat transformers are closed cycle thermodynamic systems which allow waste heat energy to be recycled by increasing its temperature. TAHTs (Triple stage heat transformers) are capable of increasing the temperature of supplied heat by up to ∼140 °C. This paper attempts to analyse the...

This paper explores the ability of European refineries to pass-through costs associated with the introduction of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). We estimated a sequence of vector error correction models (VECM) within a multi-national setting which covers 14 EU member states. Using...

Mineralöl ist für eine effiziente und zuverlässige Energieversorgung unserer Volkswirtschaft von entscheidender Bedeutung. In der Studie werden sechs Kernaussagen zur Mineralölindustrie abgeleitet. Das Resultat zeigt, dass ein Verzicht auf Mineralöl mit erheblichen Wohlfahrtsverlusten in...

This study estimates the impact of the non-aesthetic view and odor caused by Preemraff, a refinery on the Swedish west coast, on house values in the surrounding area. To carry out the analysis a spatial hedonic house price model was applied to transaction data for the period 1994 - 1996,...

This Selected Issues Paper for the Republic of Congo discusses economic development and policies. Domestic prices of refined petroleum products are administratively set by the authorities below import parity. Non-oil revenue in 2007 has remained about 20 percent of non-oil GDP, compared with...

The impact on CO2 emissions of integrating new technologies (a biomass-to-Fischer–Tropsch fuel plant and a post-combustion CO2 capture plant) with a complex refinery has previously been investigated separately by the authors. In the present study these designs are integrated with a refinery...

The rapid rise in the price of crude oil between 2004 and the summer of 2006 are the subject of debate. This paper investigates the factors that might have contributed to the oil price increase in addition to demand and supply for crude oil, by expanding a model for crude oil prices to include...

Social and political stability has improved in Congo, but the security situation is fragile. Executive Directors welcomed the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP), which was designed to safeguard fiscal and external stability. They stressed the need for stabilizing the economy and pursuing structural...

In this paper, the global CO2 effect of integrating different biomass gasification concepts to meet an increasing demand of hydrogen in an oil refinery is examined and presented in comparison with a conventional steam reformer. The studied refinery is a hydro skimming refinery with a future...

There has been a growing recognition of the importance of transparency for economic growth and social development in oil producing countries. This paper analyzes transparency issues in Cameroon's oil sector. It shows that, while substantial efforts have already been undertaken, continued action...

The completion of the Second Review Under the Poverty Reduction Growth Facility Arrangement was delayed to address important governance and transparency concerns. Macroeconomic performance was strong in the year 2005. Policy discussions focused on improving macroeconomic management against the...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.

The staff report for the First Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility on the Republic of Congo highlights economic development and fiscal policy. Reflecting the rise in oil prices, the fiscal and current account balance position improved significantly. Congo’s medium-term...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.