Argonne National Laboratory has been asked to review the least-cost expansion plan (LCEP) of the Jamaica Public Service Company, Ltd. (JPSCo). The material that has been initially provided to Argonne included: (1) An electronic copy of the data and results from JPSCo's running the WASP electric system expansion planning model, (2) Approximately 20 pages of a document 'JPSCo Generation Expansion Plan', marked 'DRAFT 002', date unknown, and (3) The report 'JPSCo Least Cost Generation Expansion Plans, (1999-2009)', January 1999. It was noticed that the 20 pages from the 'DRAFT 002' document were different from the January 1999 report. An explanation was provided to Argonne that the excerpt was from an earlier draft and that the review should focus on the January 1999 report. Further, the electronic copy of the WASP case did not correspond to either the January 1999 report or to the 20-page excerpt. Again, the reason for these discrepancies was that the WASP case provided to Argonne was an earlier case and not the final one that was presented in the report. Based on the review of the available material, Argonne experts have prepared and submitted to the National Investment Bank of Jamaica (NIBJ) a preliminary draft report …

Crude oil occurs in many different forms throughout the world. An important characteristic of crude oil that affects the ease with which it can be produced is its density and viscosity. Lighter crude oil typically can be produced more easily and at lower cost than heavier crude oil. Historically, much of the nation's oil supply came from domestic or international light or medium crude oil sources. California's extensive heavy oil production for more than a century is a notable exception. Oil and gas companies are actively looking toward heavier crude oil sources to help meet demands and to take advantage of large heavy oil reserves located in North and South America. Heavy oil includes very viscous oil resources like those found in some fields in California and Venezuela, oil shale, and tar sands (called oil sands in Canada). These are described in more detail in the next chapter. Water is integrally associated with conventional oil production. Produced water is the largest byproduct associated with oil production. The cost of managing large volumes of produced water is an important component of the overall cost of producing oil. Most mature oil fields rely on injected water to maintain formation pressure during production. …