Oil Trade: Politics and Prospects (Cambridge Energy and Environment Series)

This book is a descriptive analysis of current influences in the world oil trade. It is concerned with a central unchanged paradox of the industry--its preoccupation with maximizing the production of high-cost rather than low-cost oil. It follows the rise and decline of OPEC monopoly power in the crude market, shows how growth in the international oil business has almost ceased since the late seventies, and explores the reasons behind this slowdown. The author has had twenty-five years of practical consultancy in petroleum economics. After a century of exponential growth, the international oil industry suddenly slowed down in the 1970s, faltered during the 1980s, and by 1991 was only just about back to its 1979 level. That break in trend of its dominance in world energy became clear after 'the Opec decade' from 1973 onwards had gained an intoxicating surge of riches for oil-exporting countries. This book is a descriptive analysis of current influences upon the world oil trade. It is concerned with a central unchanged paradox of the industry - its tendency to maximise the production of high-cost rather than low-cost oil. It follows the rise and decay of Opec monopoly power in the crude market, and shows how growth in the international oil business has almost ceased since the late seventies, exploring the reasons behind this slowdown - not all attributable to Opec or to the nationalisation of major oil companies. The author has had more than twenty-five years of practical consultancy in petroleum economics. His book is objective and forward-looking: it is not a history. After a century of exponential growth, the international oil industry suddenly slowed down in the 1970s, faltered during the 1980s, and by 1991 was just about back to its 1979 level. That break in trend of its dominance in world energy became clear in 'the OPEC decade' from 1973 onwards, gaining a surge of riches for oil-exporting countries. This book, which was originally published in 1993, is a descriptive analysis of influences in the world oil trade. It is concerned with a central unchanged paradox of the industry - its preoccupation with maximising the production of high-cost rather than low-cost oil. It follows the rise and decline of OPEC monopoly power in the crude market, and shows how growth in the international oil business has almost ceased since the late seventies, exploring the reasons behind this slowdown. The author has had twenty-five years of practical experience in petroleum economics 1. Pause Or Plateau? -- 2. A Discontinuity In Trade -- 3. Cost: Concepts And Comparisons -- 4. Ambitions Of Autarky? -- 5. Still The Prime Mover -- 6. An Industry Restructured -- 7. Governments In The Oil Business -- 8. The Opec Performance -- 9. A Confusion Of Prices -- 10. Perspectives Of Supply -- 11. A Contrast Of Expectations -- 12. A Sustainable Paradox? -- Appendix 1 What Are Oil Reserves? -- Appendix 2 A Note On Energy And Oil Statistics. J.e. Hartshorn. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 294-298) And Index. "This book is a descriptive analysis of current influences in the world oil trade. It is concerned with a central unchanged paradox of the industry--its preoccupation with maximizing the production of high-cost rather than low-cost oil. It follows the rise and decline of OPEC monopoly power in the crude market, shows how growth in the international oil business has almost ceased since the late seventies, and explores the reasons behind this slowdown."--Product description