Taking the case of the Norwegian petroleum industry as its vantage point, the book discusses the question of industrial transformations in resource-based industries. The book presents new, empirically-based analyses of the development of the petroleum industry, with an emphasis on three ongoing transformation processes: Technological upgrading and innovation in upstream petroleum. Globalisation of the petroleum industry and suppliers' experiences of entering foreign markets. Diversification into and out of petroleum - and the potential for new growth paths after oil. Drawing together a range of key thinkers in this field, this volume addresses the ways in which the petroleum industry and its supply industry has changed since the turn of the millennium. It provides recommendations for the development of resource economies in general and petroleum economies in particular. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy policy and economics, natural resource management, innovation studies and the politics of the oil and gas sector.

This book examines the role of corporate structure, including the role of corporate headquarters, in the success of large firms. It considers these issues in relation to large global corporations, thereby providing a 'benchmark', which is then used as a contrast in a discussion of corporate structure and the role of corporate headquarters within large Chinese firms, many of which have evolved from former government ministries. It includes a detailed case-study of firms in the crucially important oil and petro-chemical sector. Overall, the book shows what a hugely competitive battle China's emerging 'national champions' face with their global competitors, and puts forward policy implications both for large Chinese firms and for the Chinese government concerning how business systems should be reformed further still in order to construct globally competitive large industrial corporations.

This book discusses the oil industry and its impact on the world economy in the twentieth century. It examines the importance of oil in different sectors, from 1900-1973 and stresses the relevance of oil as a factor in modern economic history not only in national terms but also within an international context. The book includes chapters on American policy towards developing economies in the first half of the 20th century; the policy of Russian oil exports in the 20s and 30s; the financing of the German and French oil industries; and the role of oil in the Japanese economy, a major industrial country without oil resources. On the international front, the book covers the impact of the Middle East national oil companies, the effect of oil on the developing countries of South Ameirca and the relevance of the oil crisis of 1973.

This book, originally published in 1996, traces the development of US government policy toward the oil industry during the 1920s and 1930s when the domestic syustem of production control was established. It then charts the deveopment and collapse of oil import controls, and the wild scramble for economic rents generated by Government regulation. It discusses the two oil crises and the 'phantom' Gulf War crisis, and the importance of public opinion in shaping the policy agenda. It also provides an in-depth study of Congressional oil votes from the 1950s to the 1980s and the formation of oil policy, beginning with theories of economic regulation, the role of interest groups in developing the policy agenda and the role of money in politics.

In less than a decade, activism against the fossil fuel industry has exploded across the globe. While environmentalists used to focus on legislative goals, such as carbon emissions trading or renewable energy policies, today the most prominent activists directly attack the fossil fuel industry. This timely book offers a comprehensive evaluation of different types of activism, the success and impact of campaigns and activities, and suggestions as to ways forward. This book is the first systematic treatment of the anti-fossil fuel movement in the United States. An accessible and readable text, it is an essential reference for scholars, policymakers, activists, and citizens interested in climate change, fossil fuels, and environmental sustainability. The entire book or chapters from it can be used as required or supplementary material in various courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. As the book is not technically challenging but contains a comprehensive review of climate change, fossil fuels, and the literature on environmental activism, it can be used as an accessible introduction to the anti-fossil fuel campaign across disciplines.

What is the future of oil as a primary source of energy? This question assumes paramount importance not only for the oil industry but also for oil-dependent economies, especially those in the Arabian Gulf region. Concerns about the diminishing prospects of oil arise from multiple challenges threatening both supply and demand. On the supply side, the depletion of finite reserves and the ultimate physical exhaustibility of this natural resource are obvious factors. On the demand side, the increasing viability and the expanding use of alternative and renewable energy sources, fuelled by environmental concerns, are adversely affecting the position of oil. In view of these trends, is the world moving inexorably towards the end of the oil era? Will technological breakthroughs in the field of alternative fuels dramatically change the energy scenario? Will new energy substitutes undermine the supremacy of "black gold"? Will the economic demise of oil precede the physical exhaustion of reserves?;These and related questions were debated by a panel of energy experts at ECSSR's Sixth Annual Energy Conference entitled The Future of Oil as a Source of Energy, held from October 7-8, 2000 in Abu D

Until 1973 few people, either in the advanced, industrial countries or in the developing countries of the Third World, thought seriously on the issues and complexities involved in the production and marketing of the oil on which they relied. It was only with the sudden steep increases in oil prices that the oil industry became a matter of general discussion, and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) became a front page topic for analysis and comment. However, real understanding of the organisation and its policies did not accompany this rush of interest and much confusion has followed. In particular, the Arab exporters have received the weight of the criticism although they have only a share in the market and not a monopoly. This book attempts to instil a greater mutual understanding between oil exporters and importers, although it is not a wholesale endorsement of Arab policies, by outlining the major policy areas in this field. It looks at new policy options and their implications in exploration, marketing and pricing and at downstream operations such as the petrochemical and gas industries. In conclusion, this study identifies the wide-ranging opportunities that the new oil policies have opened up for the Arab countries, in the national, regional and international context, and assesses and clarifies the responsibilities which accompany this success. First published in 1983.

Were oil supplies everlasting and the demand for oil strong and continuous, economic diversification in the Gulf would be pointless. However oil reserves are finite and non-renewable and the world demand for oil from the Gulf region is simply not stable. Collectively the countries of the Gulf face the striking prospect that unless priorities and plans are set with care the gestation period of their economic development may be longer than the expected life of their hydrocarbon resources. This book examines just that threat. It considers the opportunities available to the Gulf states for accumulating sufficient productive capital in the non-oil sectors of their economy to offset the drawing down of oil reserves. The book pays particular attention to the possibilities of development through cooperation not only within the Gulf Cooperation Council but also within the larger Arab region and the Third World as a whole. It concludes with a critical review of the main challenges that these economies are facing and are likely to face in the near future with special emphasis on their major problems and failures. First published in 1984.

First published in 1983, this book a number of collects the essays about the effects of a sustained period of low oil prices. The opening chapter describes how oil prices have impinged on other elements of the economy and assesses the costs and benefits, in the short and long term, of low prices. The following three chapters deal with different groups of countries and indicate clearly that for none of them do lower oil prices have unequivocally positive or negative effects - a situation examined in the chapter on the international financial system. The last three chapters analyse the shifts lower prices are likely to produce in relations among the groups closely involved in the oil market.

Death, Men and Modernism argues that the figure of the dead man becomes a locus of attention and a symptom of crisis in British writing of the early to mid-Twentieth century. While Victorian writers used dying women to dramatise aesthetic, structural and historical concerns, Modernist novelists turned to the figure of the dying man to exemplify concerns about both masculinity and modernity. This book elaborates a nodal point which links death, masculinity and modernity years before the events of the first World War.

Economically and politically, North Sea oil very quickly became of vital importance to Britain. But very little serious attention was paid to the problems of the men working out on the rigs, and certainly none to their legal problems: they had been working in a kind of legal 'no man's land'. This informative and critical book, first published in 1977, represents a new and exciting approach to labour law looks closely at the way in which the law applies to workers out on the rigs and at the way it regulates the various aspects of their employment. More than that, it looks at the context in which the law is applied, a dynamic industry operating within severe physical, economic and political constraints, showing not only how the law came to be shaped, but also how its provisions are but one example of the employment process and which mirror changing moods and standards.

The concept of 'good governance' is of increasing importance, and is used by international organizations to ensure reasonable conformity to high standards in states which participate in the global trading regime and other international activities. This book examines the concept of good governance and how it is applied in the states of the Gulf Co-operation Council. These states are particularly important because of their strategic location and massive oil wealth. Moreover, as monarchies, in most cases without powerful democratic representative bodies, and as Islamic countries, with a different outlook from countries of the West, Western standards of good governance may need to be modified in order for them to be implemented effectively.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203220838

First Published in 2002. Oil is of strategic significance. The bulk of the earth's known oil reserves, more than 70 percent, is concentrated in the Persian Gulf area. And although alternative energy sources have been vigorously pursued, the United States continues, since 1970, to import from the Persian Gulf 24 percent of needed oil for her own consumption. Since this study was completed thirty years ago there have been several major events related to the control of the flow of Gulf oil. This work narrates the history of the world's power struggle over the control of oil in the Persian Gulf from the time of the signing of the earliest oil concessions in 1901 until 1971.

Originally published in 1984, this book develops a quantitative model designed for use in the evaluation of the relative merits of alternative energy R&D programmes. It is used to compare the merits of major energy-technology R&D programmes during the 1970s in the USA: Liquid-metal fast breeder reactors, synthetic fuels derived from coal and oil shale and improved efficiency in end-use technologies. The benefits/disadvantages are analyzed in terms of economics, security and the environment. Although published some years ago, the economic benefit assessed is in terms of the impact that commercialization of a particular energy-technology would have on the total 60 year cost of the US energy supply system. The security benefit is measured in terms of the reduction of crude oil imports and the environmental factors are measured here by the total tonnage of coal and oil shale that is extracted each year. All of these issues continue to be relevant today.

Originally published in 1972, this volume, supplemented extensively with maps and tables, and employing sophisticated institutional and empirical analyses, discusses a number of important issues relating to the viability of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the natural environment. The author concludes that exploiting North Slope oil was justifiable as a calculated risk, although an alternative route and transport mode to the Midwest of eastern market would be more attractive than TAP.

Written in 1985, at a time when the world oil industry was facing a difficult period of over-supply and falling prices, this book examines some of the most important strategic issues facing both the producers and consumers of oil and gas. A theme underlying al the papers is the need for strengthening the co-operation between producing and consuming nations, especially between the Arab Gulf States and the members of the EU. The security of supply is also examined in the light of regional instability and peace in the Middle East.

This volume, originally published in 1983, analyses the extent to which American dominance in world affairs is based on the control of oil resources and the changes which will inevitably take place with the end of the oil era. The author concludes that the USA will be forced to take part in a struggle to control both the new sources of energy and the new technology which must be developed to make use of them.

As the price of oil fell in the eighties the pressures on the Arab Gulf States to speed up the diversification of their economies into non-oil sectors increased. This book, first published in 1984, examines this problem and many other issues connected with the impact of oil revenues on development in the Gulf States. It considers changing oil production policies and developments in other sectors of the economy including agriculture, industry and banking. It explores population problems, moves towards Gulf economic coordination and the impact of oil on society, culture and education. This book provides an assessment of just how much the region depends on oil for its economic prosperity and development and some indication of the enormous problems that would face the region should the demand for oil decease still further.

Exploring the wide variety of political aspects relating to oil resources and markets, The Politics of Oil provides an important and accessible introduction to topics such as the so-called 'resource curse?' oil rent, producer cartels, and international oil governance. Broadening the scope further, Dag Harald Claes also examines the role of oil in political conflicts. Divided thematically into three parts, this book discusses the exercise of political control over oil resources, their extraction, and the income from oil exports; the vagaries of oil market forces and political attempts to govern them; and finally, the complex role of oil in international, regional, and domestic conflicts. Drawing on a number of academic perspectives, including economics, political science, philosophy, history, geology, and more, the key debates surrounding oil are explored. These include the role of OPEC, the future of oil in the context of climate change, and the part oil has played in civil war and terrorism. Easily accessible, this introduction to the intertwined relationship between oil and political decisions and behaviour, is an essential tool for students of political science, economics, and energy related studies of all kinds. It is also valuable for policymakers, industry practitioners, and others interested in the oil business or governance seeking a comprehensive introduction to the subject.

This book, first published in 1987 and by one of Saudi Arabia's most distinguished academics, reviews the experience of the Arab oil producers in social, economic and political development in the key period of the Seventies and Eighties. It is broadly pessimistic about the prospects for future development and sceptical about past achievements. It argues that the 'petro-bureaucracy' in the Arabian Peninsula has failed to establish the basic principles of effective development because it has been mesmerised by the vast oil revenues it has attempted to administer. The book suggests that in many respects the oil revenues have obstructed serious development because they have made the Arabian economies totally dependent on one expendable resource and this has made them too vulnerable to external pressures and interests. Furthermore, the oil revenues have encouraged fantasy and wishful thinking which have skewed the development process and stimulated pseudo-development. The book makes clear that until the petro-bureaucracy adopts a realistic approach to development there can be no prospect of real development in the Arabian Peninsula.

This volume, originally published in 1982, brings together economists, political scientists and industry experts to explain OPEC's past achievements and future (in the early 1980s) prospects. The book opens with a clear, concise amd easy to follow treatment of the economics of exhaustible resources under monopoly and competition, the framework frequently used to examine pricing issues. The role of wealth maximisation, wealth satisficing and political factors as OPEC objectives are discussed and implications for world oil prices assessed. The stability of OPEC and the limitations of its pricing policy are examined and OPEC oil pricing and importers' policies analysed.

The oil price shocks of the 1970's led to severe recessions in the 1980's in the United States. Originally published in 1989 in the aftermath, Bohi attempts to show both how energy prices can cause a decline in output and employment and to explore important other factors which led to the recessions using the US, United Kingdom, Japan and Germany as examples. The findings in Energy Price Shocks and Macroeconomic Performance have major implications for energy policy and questions government plans which focus solely on preventing another oil supply disruption. This title will be of interest to students of environmental studies and economics as well as professionals.

For many years, vertical integration characterized the international oil industry, with the same company controlling the entire process from crude exploration and production to the retailing. This structure was radically transformed in the 1970s and this book, originally published in 1984, examines whether the dis-integration which resulted was a long-term trend or a temporary phase. It examines the attitude of the major international oil companies, discusses the policies adopted by oil producing and oil importing countries, and the limits of 'government to government' deals underlined. The political and strategic implications of re-integration are explored, and relations between oil exporters and importers, and between the USA, Europe and the Arab world discussed.

The oil and gas industry is going through a major technological shift. This is particularly true of the Norwegian continental shelf where new work processes are being implemented based on digital infrastructure and information technology. The term Integrated Operations (IO) has been applied to this set of new processes. It is defined by the Centre for Integrated Operations in the Petroleum Industry as 'work processes and technology to make smarter decisions and better execution, enabled by ubiquitous real time data, collaborative techniques and access to multiple expertise'. It's claimed that IO is efficient, optimises exploration, reduces costs and improves safety performance. However, the picture is not as clear-cut as it may appear. On the one hand, the new work processes do not prevent major accidents: IO-related factors have been identified in recent events such as the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. On the other hand, IO technology provides improved decision-making support (such as access to real-time data and expertise), which can reduce human and material losses and damage to the environment. Given these very different properties, it's vital that the industry has a detailed understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of IO, which this book sets out to do from a multidisciplinary point of view. It analyses Integrated Operations from the angles of statistics, management science, human factors and resilience engineering. These varied disciplines provide a multifaceted understanding of IO that better informs risk assessment practices, as well as explaining new techniques and methods and provides state-of-the-art guidance to risk assessment practitioners working in the oil and gas industry.