Part of the Plan - Dan Folgerberg (1975)

Some of you are true forward planners and want to know what the course schedule will be for 2011. Well, we did listen up and you now have access to the calendar. The first half is up and the rest of the year should be up in a week. Reserve your seat today on some of the most sought after energy training courses anywhere in the world.

But do note there is still plenty of training to be had in 2010.

50 Candles - Boyz II Men (1994)

OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, marks its 50th year on Friday, September 10th. Back in 1960, the five founding members of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela convened in Baghdad. Today, OPEC is 12 member countries strong and includes Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. (Indonesia suspended its membership in January 2009).

It would be tough to argue against the influence this cartel has had, and continues to do so today, on the oil supply and world markets as members strive to coordinate and unify their petroleum policies. No training on oil supply and trading can be complete without some acknowledgement of OPEC’s reach and that is certainly the case with The Oxford Princeton Programme’s unsurpassed array of such courses.

For more on OPEC’s observance of this milestone, log onto http://www.opec.org/.

Read a Book - Pylon (1980)

If you are still looking to squeeze in a book or two into what remains of your summer reading list, here are "Five Best" titles on the oil industry as suggested by Peter Maass (author of Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil, Vintage) in this weekend's edition of The Wall Street Journal:

1. The History of the Standard Oil Company by Ida M. Rabell, McClure, Phillips, 1904

The rise of the company's and it's owner, John D. Rockefeller.

2. The Seven Sisters by Anthony Sampson, Viking, 1975

Political clout wielded by the largest Western oil companies during the 1970s.

3. The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier, Oxford, 2007

Exploring the paradox of oil's baleful effects including corruption and dictatorship.

4. Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif, Random House, 1987

A fictional account of oil's discovery in the Middle East; think "Giant" the movie in the desert.

5. A Month and a Day by Ken Saro-Wiwa, Penguin, 1995

Ecological and political travesties that led the author to put his life on the line within the Niger Delta.

Energy Dance - Gary Moore Band (1973)

Quick, name the seven countries that have made the largest investments in alterative energy which includes wind, solar, biofuels, low carbon, geothermal, marine and small hydroelectric.

Took me awhile and I got only four of them right.

Here they are, according to Fast Company:

1. China - $34.6 billion (147.5% - 5-year growth rate in investment)

2. USA - $18.6 billion (102.7%)

3. UK - $11.2 billion (127.5%)

4. Spain - $10.4 billion (79.7%)

5. Brazil - $7.4 billion (147.8%)

6. Germany - $4.3 billion (75.3%)

7. Canada - $3.3. billion (70.2%)

To learn more about the key drivers of this accelerating sector check out our Overview of the Renewables Industry web-based course.

Back to Chicago - Styx (1990)

If you are headed to the LDC Gas Forum in Chicago running next month from Monday, September 13th through Wednesday, the 15th, why not extend your stay the rest of the week and round out your knowledge of the marketplace with two of our exclusive North American Nat Gas courses?

Overview of the North American Natural Gas Industry
Thursday, September 16, 2010

North American Natural Gas Transportation and Storage
Friday, September 17, 2010

Last year, a number of LDC Forum delegates did take advantage of the convenient schedule and found it quite beneficial as the courses provided an opportunity to confirm and further comprehend what they took away from the conference still very fresh on their minds.

Even if you aren't attending the Forum, we welcome you to join us for this education event.

Back to You - Blue (2001)

Apologies for the absence of recent postings. The best excuses I can come up with are lame: the heat wave won't stop; the World Cup lasts a whole month; hey, it's summer!

Truth be told it has been super busy around here at The Oxford Princeton Programme. We have updated the public course schedule with new courses and sessions. We have added new titles to our web-based library. We have brought in new faculty. We are also updating all of our marketing materials to ensure they properly reflect all that's new.

In late June, I had the pleasure of being part of our first ever Energy Education Summit held in Central London. Client company representatives got to sample our instructor-led courses as well as demo our web-based training portal. They also got to network with their colleagues acorss the indsutry. If you were not able to make it but would like to learn more about our wide array of offerings or to join us for next year's summit, do contact us: info@oxfordprinceton.com.

With half of 2010 now history, it's prime time to consider your training needs for the rest of the year. We do hope to be of assistance in this regard.

I'll Meet You There - Owl City (2008)

If you are in London either tomorrow or Wednesday join us as we hold our first ever Energy Education Summit at the CBI Centre (Centre Point). Meet with our energy education experts who will offer samplings from their courses. Featured topics include derivatives, shipping, oil and gas. We shall also be offering demos of our popular web-based training courses. Leave with a free course voucher and perhaps you too could be the lucky recipient of an Apple iPad (R).

For further information and to register for this complimnetary event, click here.