M.Econ. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Ph.D. (Economic Sciences) / The international oil industry has always been subject to significant changes throughout the years, mainly as a result of changes in the environment, government policies, the world economy and a developing technology. Since the turn of the century, however, no changes have been as fundamental as the events of 1973. The international oil industry found itself in a very short period of time, with the following changes: The loss of production resources to the industry's previous host countries. A significant increase in the price of the products the industry handle. Increased interference by the governments of the countries in which the industry markets its products. No growth. A permanent change in the mix of petroleum products required by the market. The oil industry reacted to these changes in the following ways: Large proportions of refining networks were closed and large amounts of money were spent on additional cracking facilities for the remainder of the industry's networks. Organisational changes were introduced, with the objective of removing surplus infra-structure from a shrinking industry. iii Attention was given to other forms of energy. Whatever the reaction had been, the mere fact that refining capacity had to be reduced, and large oil tankers scrapped, suggests a lack of proper planning during the period preceding the problems of 1973. During the late fifties and sixties, when there was a steady growth in the world economy and oil prices remained static, planning ahead became relatively simple, and the oil industry planners slipped into the illusion that none of the upheave1s of history would be repeated. The signals were clearly there, but were totally ignored until far too late. To a large extent, this happened because government officials and oil company executives tended to specialise, and therefore they lacked knowledge of the oil industry as a whole. In South Africa, more planning was conducted than elsewhere in the world, but was mainly directed towards the development of synfuels and strategic storage. This was the result of South Africa's peculiar political circumstances and not because of an awareness of the need for realistic commercial planning.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science in Development Planning to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / Nigeria has earned huge revenues from the exploitation of oil resources in the Niger Delta since the discovery of oil in 1956. These huge economic gains have however, not been translated into sustainable growth and development. The Niger Delta is characterized by poverty and squalor which has been attributed to environmental degradation from the activities of oil exploitation by the Nigerian government and multi-national companies in the area and also poor governance. This study adopts an exploratory case study method to explores the interrelationship between Oil Exploitation, Environmental Impacts and Conflicts in the Niger Delta and tries to answer the question what is the nature of and inter-relationships between conflicts associated with oil exploitation in the Niger Delta Area? The Niger Delta area has experienced a lot of oil related conflicts over the decades, which have manifested in the form of peaceful protests, violence, combat with Nigerian military forces, rise of youth militia groups, illegal oil markets, vandalism of oil pipelines, hijacking of offshore and onshore oil vessels, hostage taking, kidnapping of expatriates and oil company workers in the region. Conflicts have also taken the form of inter-communal conflicts, intra-communal conflicts, inter-state conflicts and conflicts between the Nigerian Government Oil Companies and the affected communities. The root causes of conflicts include; the high dependence of the Niger government on oil revenue for economic growth, marginalisation and underdevelopment of the Niger Delta region, struggle for resource control and derivation formula, existing systems of neo-patrimonialism, corruption, land decrees and poor governance. The major findings include; the presence of crude oil in the Niger Delta is strongly linked to conflicts experienced in the area, rent seeking practices such as oil theft and bunkering, political thuggery, corruption and the struggle for economic and political power by political elites characterise the Niger Delta region. / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing, 2016 / Despite the continued popularity of social media (SM) platforms globally, limited research on their challenges and opportunities has been done in the South African (SA) petroleum industry context. A semi-automated qualitative study was conducted with the objective of gathering data from the five largest petroleum companies in SA through semi-structured interviews using a purposive sample to ascertain these challenges and opportunities. The data were gathered; pre-tested, transcribed, and then analysed using NVivo 11 software. The research findings of this study show that the key challenges marketing practitioners encounter in SA include the lack of leadership buy-in as well as the absence of risk of mitigation plans when participating on the dialogue medium. The key opportunities include real-time customer engagement, ease of market development, data access, data mining, and wider customer reach. Based on the findings, a framework for implementing SM strategies in the SA petroleum industry context is proposed to help marketers in mitigating the failure risk of SM campaigns contributing positively to their bottom line. Recommendations obtained from participants include implementation of processes and procedures for customer engagement through social media, exploitation of strategy partners who are already active in social media, and the development of content strategies. Limitations are highlighted and future research areas that can be used by the petroleum industry and contribute to the body of knowledge are recommended. Key words: Integrated marketing communication, petroleum, promotional mix, social media, South Africa. / GR2018

O petróleo, por ser uma das principais fontes primárias de energia e também matéria prima para uma série de produtos, é hoje um dos recursos naturais não renováveis mais importantes do mundo. O petróleo encontra-se acumulado no subsolo, e foi produzido pela ação da natureza, a partir dos restos de animais e vegetais, num processo que levou milhões de anos para ser concluído. Inicialmente, é possível extrair apenas uma parte do petróleo contido em um reservatório (cerca de 25%), e por este motivo injeta-se água na jazida para aumentar a recuperação do restante deste insumo. Com o intuito de otimizar este processo, denominado Recuperação secundária, traçadores são utilizados para obtenção de informações acerca do fluxo de água dentro do reservatório. Para que um determinado composto possa ser aplicado como traçador, ele deve cumprir uma série de requisitos, dependendo da investigação que se deseja efetuar. No caso de traçadores para estudo do comportamento da água injetada no reservatório, um dos principais requisitos é que ele não se atrase com relação às moléculas de água, ou seja, que ele não fique retido nas superfícies rochosas (fenômeno denominado sorção) nem se particione com a fase orgânica. Existem modelos matemáticos distintos para representar os processos de sorção, sendo que o mais usado estabelece uma relação linear entre a concentração do composto sorvido pela rocha e a concentração remanescente em solução uma vez atingido o equilíbrio, expressa pelo coeficiente Kd. Este coeficiente pode ser estimado de maneiras diferentes, mas os métodos mais usados são por batelada e por deslocamento em meio poroso, sendo que o último leva em consideração efeitos hidrodinâmicos. No presente trabalho foi montado um sistema experimental automatizado para realização de testes desta natureza, onde as válvulas motorizadas e o software para controle remoto e aquisição de dados foram desenvolvidos. As amostras rochosas empregadas nos testes foram arenitos provenientes da Formação Botucatu, similar às rochas constituintes da maioria dos reservatórios de petróleo. O estudo da dinâmica deste sistema foi conduzido usando o NaCl como traçador de referência, uma vez confirmado que seu comportamento é igual ao da água tritiada (considerada o traçador ideal para fases aquosas). A determinação quantitativa deste composto nos efluentes foi realizada por condutimetria direta, por meio de uma célula para medidas em fluxo posicionada horizontalmente, visto que na vertical ela provoca mudanças no comportamento hidrodinâmico do analito. Também foi confirmado que a concentração da solução de NaCl injetada influencia no perfil das curvas de resposta obtidas em testes de deslocamento em coluna, sugerindo que em concentrações mais baixas as espécies iônicas Na+ e Cl- sofrem retardo em relação ao fluxo de água. Além disso, a vazão de operação da bomba deve ser mantida constante em um valor menor que 5 mL/min, pois para valores maiores a balança demonstrou encontrar dificuldade para estabilizar as medidas, comprometendo o envio de seus dados para o computador. Por fim, a comparação entre os resultados obtidos em um teste controlado manualmente e em outro automatizado evidenciou uma pequena diferença entre ambos, causada pelas formas distintas de se calcular o volume injetado em cada um dos testes. Entretanto, apesar das pequenas limitações e discrepâncias apresentadas, a montagem e posterior automatização do sistema para teste de deslocamento em meio poroso foi bem sucedido. / Petroleum, nowadays, is one of the most important natural resources in the world, since it is one of the main primary sources of energy and also raw material for many different products. It can be found accumulated in the subsoil, and was produced from the remaining portions of animals and vegetables, in a process that took millions of years to be concluded. Initially, only a small fraction of the oil contained in a reservoir (about 25% or less) can be extracted (phenomenon named sorption) or partitioned within the organic phase. Distinct mathematical models may represent the sorption without external help, and for this reason water is injected in the reservoir to increase the recovery of the remaining quantity. Aiming at optimizing this process, called Secondary Recovery, tracers are used to provide information concerning the water flow inside the reservoir. In order to be used as a tracer, a given compound must fulfill a series of requirements, depending on the desired purpose. Tracers applied to study the water behavior inside the reservoir, must follow water molecules without being retarded in the rocky surfaces processes, and the most used model establishes a linear relation between the sorbed amount of the compound and its remaining concentration in solution at equilibrium, expressed by the distribution coefficient, Kd. This coefficient can be estimated in different ways, laboratory methods such as stirring and flow-through being the most used. The latter has the advantage of incorporating hydrodynamic effects in its results. In the present work an automatized experimental system for carrying out tests of this nature has been constructed. Motor driven valves and a software for implementing remote control and acquisition of data have been developed. Sandstone samples from Botucatu Formations similar to reservoir rocks are widespreadly distributedand were used in these tests. The dynamics of this system was also investigated using NaCl as reference tracer, since its behavior is in quite good agreement with tha of tritiated water (considered the ideal tracer for water phases). Its concentration in the effluent was determined online by condutimetry, using a flow-through cell at horizontal position, since it changes the hydrodynamic behavior of the compound when vertically positioned. It was also confirmed that the NaCl concentration in the injected solution influences the profies of the tracer breakthrough curves obtained in flow-through experiments, suggesting that the transport of the ionic species Na+ and Cl- is slower than that of water. Moreover, the pump flowrate, which is is controlled by a balance connected to a computer, should be less than 5 mL/min. At higher values the balance will not be able to get stabilized upon fluctuations, thus compromising the transmission of signals to the computer. Finally, breakthrough curves from automatizated and manually controled experiments were compared, and a small difference between both could be observed, caused by the different way of calculating the injected volume in each test. In spite of these small limitations and discrepancies, the construction and automatization of the system for flow-through tests were successful.

by Lam Yip-mou Charles. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1981. / Bibliography: leaves 104-106.

This study is concerned with the relationship between the Iranian Oil Industry and Iranian economy. Oil revenues have been the largest source for financing economic development plans and for obtaining foreign exchange. In this paper, the history of the Iranian oil industry is summarized, and five previously implemented developmental plans are analyzed. Additionally, the impact of oil on some economic sectors and its contribution to GNP is examined. The strong correlation between oil reserves and the economy may bring a problem in the future when oil reserves run out. Iranian economists believe that the economy must be industrialized in order to reduce the economy's reliance on oil. This paper recommends that all the economic sectors, particularly agriculture, should receive careful consideration, even though the national goal is to industrialize the economy.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries / Department: Economics.

[pt] O propósito desse estudo foi analisar a influência das estratégias competitivas implementadas por empresas de petróleo na percepção de valor dos seus acionistas. Para isso, foi adotada uma linha de investigação através da qual foi associado um conjunto de variáveis, mensuráveis através de dados contábeis, a posicionamentos estratégicos relevantes visando à identificação de grupos estratégicos na indústria petrolífera. Este trabalho adotou como base a tipologia de estratégias genéricas desenvolvida por Chrisman et al. na identificação dos grupos estratégicos. O conceito de percepção de valor dos acionistas aqui abordado foi retratado pelo Q de Tobin, razão entre o valor de mercado das empresas e o valor de reposição dos seus ativos. Foram adotados indicadores de desempenho amplamente utilizados nos estudos de finanças corporativas, tais como retorno sobre capital empregado, faturamento e lucro líquido. O método de análise utilizado constituiu-se numa revisão bibliográfica para identificação de variáveis estratégicas e de desempenho e do levantamento de uma base de dados obtida a partir de relatórios de atividades e demais informações relevantes publicadas por essas empresas. Uma vez selecionados, os dados de cada empresa foram submetidos a procedimentos estatísticos visando à identificação das estratégias competitivas adotadas. Basicamente, foram utilizados três métodos estatísticos: a análise de cluster, o teste de Wilcoxon Sign e o teste de Kruskal-Wallis, respectivamente, na identificação da composição dos grupos estratégicos, na verificação da coerência dos mesmos com as características apontadas pela tipologia adotada e na comparação do desempenho das empresas de cada grupo. Foram desenvolvidas análises anuais dos posicionamentos estratégicos das empresas, bem como análise de longo prazo considerando a formação de grupos estratégicos baseados no posicionamento mais freqüente das mesmas em todo o período estudado. Uma vez identificados os grupos estratégicos, foi verificado se a percepção do investidor foi afetada pelo posicionamento estratégico das empresas através da comparação dos valores do Q de Tobin dos diferentes grupos formados e na observação das demais variáveis de desempenho. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que, em uma perspectiva de longo prazo, é possível afirmar que os acionistas percebem valor nas estratégias adotadas pelas empresas de petróleo, ao passo que, em uma base anual, não é possível confirmar, com confiabilidade estatística, esta mesma afirmação. / [en] The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of the competitive strategies implemented by oil companies in the value perception of their shareholders. For that, an investigation line was adopted where a group of variables, measurable through accounting data, was associated to important strategic positionings seeking to the identification of strategic groups in the oil industry. This work adopted the typology developed by Chrisman et al. in the identification of the strategic groups. The concept of value perception of the shareholders was portrayed by Q of Tobin, the reason between the market value of the companies and the replacement value of their assets. Perform indicators widespread used in the studies of corporate finances, such as return on employed capital, revenue and net profit, were adopted to complement Tobins q analysis. The analysis method used was a bibliographical revision for identification of strategic variables and the prospection of a database obtained from reports of activities and other important information published by the companies. Basically, three statistical methods were used: cluster analysis, Wilcoxon Sign Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test, respectively, in the identification of the composition of the strategic groups, in the verification of the coherence of the same ones with expected characteristics for the adopted typology and in the comparison of companies s perform in each group. Annual analyses of the strategic positionings of the companies were developed, as well as long period analysis considering the formation of strategic groups based on the most frequent positioning in the whole studied period. Once identified the strategic groups, was verified if the investors perception was affected by the strategic positioning of the companies through the comparison of the values of Q of Tobin of the different strategic groups and in the observation of the other performance variables. The obtained results suggest that, in a perspective of long period, it is possible to affirm that the shareholders notice value in the strategies adopted by the oil companies, while, in an annual base, it is not possible to confirm, with statistical reliability, this same statement.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH / Bibliography: leaves 75-76. / by Oscar Salazar Rodriguez. / M.C.P.