Reference at Newman Library

Tag: Industry information

SIC Codes Not in Business Insights: Essentials

Before Gale relaunched Business & Company Resource Center as Business Insights: Essentials last year, you could look up a company and see the company’s lines of business classified by SIC and NAICS. It looks like the new Business Insights: Essentials Platform now only features NAICS classification:

Business Insights Essentials--no SIC codes

 

I noticed this when a student was in chat yesterday asking for “Business & Company Resource Center” (as directed by the student’s professor) to look up SIC codes for a company. I mentioned the change to NAICS only classification and also pointed the student to Mergent Online, where you companies are classified with both NAICS and SIC:

Mergent Online--SIC and NAICS

Shale Gas Industry

Students in MGT4880 will be researching the shale gas industry again this semester. The teams will focus on shale gas development in countries outside the United States. Outside the U.S., shale gas is often called unconventional gas and some databases like Business Monitor use that industry name.  I met with this class on Wednesday to introduce them to our databases and  I have posted a Shale Gas Industry guide on the Library Guides page.

South Africa resources re shale gas

I have helped several students who are working on a project dealing with South Africa and shale gas. Sometimes this is referred to as shale oil.    They need information on legal requirements, including South African laws, and  economic aspects, and environmental concerns. Shale gas, shale oil, fracking or fracturing, natural gas liquid extraction, or natural  gas extraction are among the keywords that can be searched.  “Environmental concerns” might be described in other terms–water safety, water pollution, water quality, air pollution, etc.

Our legal databases, Lexis Nexis Academic, Westlaw Campus and Westlaw Next, do not have the South African statutes or regulations.  Lexis-Nexis Academic can be searched for news articles about this issue.

South African government websites that have some policy information, as well as pending legislation, can be found at these sites:

Pending bills: http://www.parliament.gov.za/live/content.php?Item_ID=128

Department of Mineral Resources: http://www.dmr.gov.za/  (has information on policies and regulations)

Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs http://www.environment.gov.za/?q=search/node/fracking (report on fracking.)

Some databases that can be helpful, providing news, industry outlooks, include:

ABI Inform Global

Business Monitor International–search shale oil and limit to South Africa

CIAO

Factiva

ISI Emerging Markets–has many news articles and company reports.  Limit search to South Africa.

From looking at some results, I learned that there was moratorium on development late last year, and there are recent articles about what is now being considered.

Areas of South Africa with promising shale gas deposits are in Great Karoo and Little Karoo, also called Wet Karoo.

South African publications can be located by searching Journals/Magazines.  The Economist and The Financial Times can be searched for news articles.

The South African Institute of Mines and Metallurgy is available as an open access journal.  There is an article about fracturing in the most recent issue: http://www.saimm.co.za/journal-papers

The Energy Information Administration for the U.S. has this report re South Africa: http://www.eia.gov/cabs/South_Africa/pdf.pdf

Link to special report on economic aspects: http://www-static.shell.com/static/zaf/downloads/aboutshell/econometrix/econometrix_report.pdf

Other resources may be found by doing a Google search.

I hope these resources are helpful.