Exploration And Economics Of The Petroleum Industry

This book is a valuable tool in understanding the dynamics of the oil industry from both a broad and specific economic perspective. It contains insights into the underlying features and mechanisms of the oil industry and its many branches, as well as a special emphasis on relevant international problems. It also provides a wealth of statistical information and should be of interest to all concerned with energy matters” (Euroil). “Petroleum Economics, by Jean Masseron, is a fine introductory text to the entire scope of activities and economic conditions facing the world-wide petroleum industry” (AAPG Bulletin). “This book, already used by many organizations, should be especially useful for engineers, economists and managers concerned with energy matters, and also those who, beyond the technical aspects, wish to acquire and in-depth understanding of the economic mechanisms in a vital sector for world development today” (JCPT). Contents : Introduction: Principal economic characteristics. I. Crude oil supply and demand. 1. The crude oil market. 2. Technical cost of exploration and production. 3. Tax and legal aspects. II. The economics of crude oil transportation. 1. Transportation by tanker. 2. Crude oil pipelining. III. Finished products supply: refining. 1. The search for optimal economic conditions. 2. Present unit location and cost of refinery processing. 3. Legal organization. IV. Demand and marketing of petroleum products. 1. The petroleum products in the principal consuming countries. 2. The distribution of petroleum products. 3. The marketing of petroleum products. V. Petrochemicals. 1. General characteristics. 2. Economics of two large basic units. 3. The market for the principal finished products. 4. Problems of today. VI. Natural gas. 1. Natural gas supply in the world. 2. Transportation. 3, International markets and prices. Conclusion: Energy and petroleum problems of the future. Bibliography.

One of the characteristics of oil in its early exploration and production has been the requirement of large capital investments for exploratory activity associated with unexplored fields surrounding new oil reserves, and costly development expenditures that are subsequently needed for extension and expanding of such fields once they were explored. Therefore, the evolution of the oil industry had not been and cannot be treated in a manner of a mom-and-pop enterprise in which capital has yet to turn into a well-developed process of concentration and centralization. On the other hand, in the late nineteenth century, Taylorism was just giving rise to standardization and thus automated assembly line mass production in need of capital on a scale beyond individual wealth. That is why oil was characterized by the assemblage of several financial syndicates for the venture of exploration in both the United States and abroad. And it is the minimum size of capital that in part plays a pivotal role in development of capitalist competition in oil and in other businesses. The genesis of hydrocarbon can be traced to colonial fusion of capitalistically developed and undeveloped parts of the world--a world whose overwhelming majority had not yet lived within capitalism proper.Exploration for petroleum originated in the latter part of the nineteenth century when geologists began to map land features that were favorable for the collection of oil in a reservoir. Of particular interest to geologists were outcrops that provided evidence of alternating layers of porous and impermeable rock. The porous rock (typically a sandstone, limestone, or dolomite) provides the reservoir for the petroleum while the impermeable rock (typically clay or shale) prevents migration of the petroleum from the reservoir.A basic rule of thumb in the upstream (or producing) sector of the oil and gas industry has been (and maybe still is in some circles of exploration technology) that the best place to find new crude oil or natural gas is near formations where it has already been found. The financial risk of doing so is far lower than that associated with drilling a rank wildcat hole in a prospective, but previously unproductive, area.you can get all the information about exploring oil and gas, economics, physics, and engineering information

Any discussion of the various facets of petroleum policy in the United States rests to a greater or less extent on the issue of sensitivity of petroleum exploration, and hence of new petroleum discoveries to economic incentives. Indeed, a principle argument in favour of having a special petroleum policy at all is that domestic petroleum exploration is so sensitive to economic considerations that in the absence of special incentives exploration expenditures would sharply decrease, as would the amount of petroleum discovered; consequently, the nation’s known oil resources would be reduced to an extent dangerous in the event of an international crisis. This study attempts to answer the question: how sensitive are new petroleum discoveries to economic incentives? This book will be of interest to students of environmental studies.

Revised and updated to reflect major changes in the field, this second edition presents an integrated and balanced view of current attitudes and practices used in sound economic decision-making for engineering problems encountered in the oil industry. The volume contains many problem-solving examples demonstrating how economic analyses are applied to different facets of the oil industry.;Discussion progresses from an introduction to the industry, through principles and techniques of engineering economics, to the application of economic methods to the oil industry. It provides information on the types of crude oils, their finished products and resources of natural gas, and also summarizes worldwide oil production and consumption data.