05.07.2009
A special vehicle is a company that has been created solely for a special financial transaction or transactions which is set up for special purposes such as achieving lower tax rates. It is a means to limit the liability of the parent company and a corporation can use such a vehicle to finance a large project without putting the entire firm at risk. The SPV is usually a subsidiary company with on the other hand an asset/liability structure and legal status that makes its obligations secure even if the parent company goes bankrupt. Infrastructure projects can be undertaken under the framework of a special purpose vehicle to which the banks will lend the funds. All of the project assets and contracts will be vested in the SPV.
The spark spread reflects the costs or anticipated costs of producing power from a specific facility. It can be used as a method of converting millions of Btus to megawatt hours and vice versa, and thus relates well to the electricity and natural gas futures contracts. The spread is simply the heat rate of a specific generating unit or power system (the number of Btus needed to make one kilowatt hour of electricity), multiplied by the cost of energy expressed as dollars per British thermal units (Btus). The usefulness of the spread evaluation is dependent on the market price for power which reflects the relationship of the supply and demand for power, not the efficiencies of the generating units. Other costs affecting the price of power using the spark spread evaluation include those of gas transportation, power transmission, plant operations and maintenance, and fixed costs.
Gap between what energy producing countries can / are supplying and global consumption. If for instance OPEC is down in 2008 to a spare capacity of 2.5 million b/d, there is hardly any safety margin to counteract against supply interruptions on the one hand and demand spikes on the other to ensure price stability
Spar platforms are among the largest offshore platforms in use. These huge platforms consist of a large cylinder supporting a typical fixed rig platform. The cylinder however does not extend all the way to the seafloor, but instead is tethered to the bottom by a series of cables and lines. The large cylinder serves to stabilize the platform in the water, and allows for movement to absorb the force of potential hurricanes. Suitable for 2,000 – 10,000 feet
Such as sovereign rights that exist in territorial waters or in an exclusive economic zone
Relevant in a (Production Sharing Contract) PSC between an (International or Independent Oil Company) IOC and a National NOCs.
Sovereign Immunity – the legal doctrine that a state cannot be sued without its consent. The extent a state is immune within its own jurisdiction varies according to country, while principles of international law exempt states from legal proceedings in another country. However if states are acting as contracting bodies, such as in a PSC, sovereign immunity may not be available in an international or foreign court. In addition, a state may elect to waive this immunity when negotiating a PSC contract
South Korea has three large shipbuilding companies: Hyundai Heavy Industries, the largest shipbuilding company in the world; Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. South Korea dominates LNG shipbuilding orders