Alcoa, the first Dow component company to report second-quarter results, boosted investors’ confidence for a stronger economic recovery.

The aluminum producer reported that its net income was 136 million dollars, compared with a loss of 454 million dollars in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 22 percent to 5.2 billion dollars, higher than analysts’ estimate.

The company also raised its 2010 projection for aluminum consumption from 10 percent to 12 percent “based on this improved end-market demand.”

Oil prices were also boosted after the International Energy Agency predicted 2011 global oil demand would increase by 1.3 million barrels a day, or 1.6 percent, to 87.8 million barrels a day, largely due to economic growth in emerging countries.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose 2.20 U.S. dollars to settle at 77.15 dollars on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent crude rose 2.28 dollars to settle at 76.65 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

ISO International Standards for the oil and gas sector are not only being increasingly adopted by regional or national standards bodies in North and South America, China, Europe, the Gulf states, Kazakhstan and Russia, but also increasingly referenced in national regulations.

This progression is highlighted in the 2010 edition of the OGP Standards Bulletin, published by the Standards Committee of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) whose members in 80 countries produce more than half of the world’s oil and about one third of its gas.

The OGP strongly supports international standards for the petroleum and natural gas industries and actively promotes the development and use of ISO International Standards, as well as those of its partner the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

ISO standards for the sector are primarily developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 67, Materials, equipment and offshore structures for petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries, in which hundreds of experts from 29 countries participate, with another 30 countries as observers. In 2009, 21 new or revised standards were produced by ISO/TC 67 and 23 are planned for first publication or revision by the end of 2010. Currently, the TC’s portfolio comprises 145 standards, plus updates.

For industry, International Standards reduce costs and delivery times, and facilitate trade across borders by replacing the multiplicity of existing industry, regional and national standards, as well as specifications developed by individual companies.

An example cited by the OGP Standards Bulletin is the three-part ISO 21809 on pipeline coatings which, by providing a consistent and unified approach for implementation worldwide, replaces multiple existing specifications and so cuts costs and complications for the oil and gas sector.

The bulletin also quotes the successful example provided by Russia which in 2008 based 11 national standards on ISO standards.

For regulators, International Standards provide the technical basis for regulations, while achieving high levels of safety because standards are continually reviewed to maintain them at the state of the art. Standards thus play an important role in the technical definition of safety levels set by regulators for oil and gas installations.

The latest OGP Standards Bulletin reports that compared with a European survey in 1996, a new survey reveals a “significant increase” from 16 % to 38 % in regulatory references to international standards and “a sharp decrease” from 39 % to 14 % in references to national standards.

The OGP Standards Bulletin can be downloaded as a PDF file from the Websites of ISO and the OGP. Paper copies of the bulletin, which includes a poster-style graphic of current and upcoming ISO standards for the oil and gas sector, may be obtained by contacting the OGP Standards Manager, Alf Reidar Johansen, at Alf.Reidar.Johansen@ogp.org.uk.