The purpose of the study is threefold: (1) to make a survey of the type of purchasing organizations used by a selected number of oil companies operating in the Southwest, (2) to determine the extent or degree of centralized purchasing used by these firms, and (3) to evaluate briefly the organizational arrangements found in light of accepted principles.

The problem, to make a study of the petroleum industry in Ector County, Texas, and, in addition, a study of the terminology of this industry, was selected as a result of the realization that the major industry of the community was not understood by the teachers, and that it did not have a place in the curriculum.

This is a study of the labor movement in the oil industry from an historical approach.

Thesis (MA)-- Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The interplay between political risk and emerging markets is current and dynamic. As global interest shifts, investors cannot ignore emerging market behaviour and their influence. However, with great potential and opportunities, too comes great political risk. This research study begins with the point raised by the Eurasia Group that emerging market risk differs to that of developed market risk, and that risk in some instances can be ‗unbounded‘. Subsequently, the Eurasia Group deems emerging markets a top risk for 2013. Focussing on the oil and gas industry in emerging markets, Nigeria and Mexico offer valuable case studies. This research study offers a comparative study of these two countries in order to determine a generic list of political risk factors that are facing the oil and gas industries in emerging markets. In an increasingly volatile world, with a growing global demand for energy sources, and greater uncertainty surrounding investments and potential returns, political risk analysis is an invaluable decision-making tool for Transnational Oil Corporations (TNOCs) in order for their assets and interests to be protected. The central research question concerns the main political risk factors facing investors who want to participate in the oil and gas industry in emerging markets. The aim of the research study is to answer the central research question through the help of supplementary questions. The first of these ask what the main political risk factors for TNOCs operating in the Niger Delta are. The second question asks what the main political risk factors for TNOCs operating in the Gulf of Mexico are. So as to complete the political risk picture, the last question asks how political risk in the oil and gas industry can be mitigated. This research study will contribute to existing research, and will assist investors with risk identification, analysis and mitigation. By utilising the generic list of essential political risk factors, TNOCs are made aware of the most salient political risks in the oil and gas industry in emerging markets, and therefore are better placed to make rational and informed decisions when it comes to foreign investment. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die wisselwerking tussen politieke risiko en opkomende markte is intyd en dinamies. Soos globale belange verskuif, kan beleggers nie die opkomende markte se gedrag en invloed ignoreer nie, alhoewel met groot potensiaal en geleenthede kom daar ook groot politieke risiko. Die navorsingstudie het begin met die Eurasia Groep wat uitgelig het dat opkomende markrisiko verskil van die van ‘n ontwikkelde mark en dat die risiko in sekere gevalle ―ongebonde‖ kan wees. Gevolglik is opkomende markte as ‘n top risiko vir 2013 geklassifiseer. Met ‘n fokus op die olie- en gasindustrie in opkomende markte, bied Nigerië en Mexiko waardevolle gevallestudies. Die navorsingstuk bied ‘n vergelykende studie van dié twee lande met die doel om ‘n generiese lys van politieke risikofaktore wat die olie- en gasindustrie in opkomende markte in die gesig staar, vas te stel. In ‘n toenemende onstabiele wêreld met ‘n toenemende globale aanvraag vir energiebronne en groter onsekerheid rakende beleggings en potensiële opbrengs, is politieke risiko-analise ‘n waardevolle besluitnemings-meganisme vir Trans-Nasionale Oliekorporasies (TNOKs) om hul bates en belange te beskerm. Die sentrale navorsingsvraag fokus op die hoof politieke risikofaktore vir beleggers wat in die olie- en gasindustrie van opkomende markte wil belê. Die doel van die navorsingstudie is om die sentrale navorsingsvraag te beantwoord met behulp van aanvullende vrae. Die eerste vraag raak die hoof politieke risikofaktore vir TNOKs aan wat in die Niger-Delta opereer. Die tweede vraag handel oor die hoof politieke risikofaktore vir TNOKs wat in die Golf van Mexiko opereer. Die laaste vraag voltooi die politiese risiko profiel deur te vra hoe die politieke risiko in die olie- en gasindustrie verminder kan word. Die navorsingstudie sal bestaande navorsing aanvul en beleggers help om risiko‘s te identifiseer, analiseer en verminder. Deur ‘n generiese lys van politieke risikofaktore te gebruik, word TNOKs bewus gemaak van die mees prominente politieke risiko‘s in die olie- en gasindustrie van opkomende markte, wat hulle in staat stel om rasionele en ingeligte besluite te neem wanneer dit by internasionale beleggings kom.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores the impact of primary energy on the measurement of state power and hegemony. Through an examination of British and American hegemonies, the role of coal, oil and petroleum on the hegemonic cycle is assessed, and the argument is presented for the inclusion of energy as a primary element underpinning the state power base. Utilising the Hegemonic Stability Theory approach to the study of global hegemony, a framework for the assessment of the role of energy on international hegemony is constructed. The Hegemonic Stability Theory approach employed in this study is augmented through the incorporation of several complimentary theoretical approaches, in order to improve the theory’s applicability to multiple cases. Through an examination of the economic, financial, and military/naval ‘pillars’ of the respective hegemonic powers, the study determines that energy has had a marked impact on both British and American hegemonies. Technological developments, notably the steam engine, and the subsequent conversion of the Royal Navy, the cornerstone of British hegemony, from sail to steam, made coal vital to the British Empire. In contrast, the use of oil and petroleum during the United States hegemonic reign indicate that access to oil and petroleum not only benefitted the United States material power base, but has become vital to sustaining American hegemony. This study makes a plausible case for the inclusion of energy as a factor in the assessment of state power, and draws attention to the importance of ensuring energy security and maintaining technological leads. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie verhandeling ondersoek die impak wat grond-energie het as maatstaf op staatsmag en hegemonie. Na afleiding van ‘n gevalle studie van beide Britse en Amerikaanse hegemonies - die rol wat steenkool, olie en petroleum speel op die hegemoniese siklus – stel hierdie navorsingstuk voor dat grond-energie ingesluit moet word as ‘n kriterium van hoe staatsmag gemeet word. Hierdie tesis wend Hegemoniese Stabiliteitsteorie aan om internasionale hegemonie te ondersoek. ‘n Raamwerk om die belang van energie te meet in internasionale hegemonie word opgestel. Die Hegemoniese Stabiliteitsteorie aanslag word aangepas deur verskeie komplimentêre teoretiese benaderings te inkorporeer en sodoende die teorie meer toepaslik te maak op verskeie gevallestudies. Deur die ekonomiese, finansiële en militêle/vloot ‘pilare’ van die onderskeie hegemoniese magte te ondersoek, bevind hierdie verhandeling dat energie ‘n bepalende invloed gehad het op beide Britse en Amerikaanse hegemonies. Tegnologiese ontwikkelings, mees opmerklik die stoomenjin en die gevolglike oorgang van die Koninklike Vloot (die hoeksteun van Britse hegemonie) van seil- na stoomenjins, was die gevolg dat steenkool van uiterse belang geword het vir die Britse Ryk. In kontras word aangedui dat die gebruik van en toegang tot olie en petroleum tydens die hegemoniese bewind van die Verenigde State van Amerika nie net die materiële magsbasis bevoordeel het nie, maar asook bepalend geword het om Amerikaanse hegemonie te handhaaf. Hierdie verhandeling maak die aanneemlike voorstelling dat energie ingesluit moet word as ‘n faktor om staatsmag te meet, en dui die belang daarvan aan om tegnologiese vooruitgang te onderhou en sodoende energie sekuriteit te verseker.

The main aim of this thesis is to investigate the ways in which the authoritarian regime in post-Soviet Kazakhstan maintained itself in power from 1991 until 2005. This study endeavours to uncover the palette of the regime’s methods by analysing the ways in which it went about controlling the oil industry – an industry with which the political and economical future of Kazakhstan is inseparably intertwined. The empirical section of this study investigates the interplay between the regime and the actors located in and around two cores: the National Oil Company and the oil-rich areas. This thesis focuses in particular on instances where players involved with the oil industry, whether directly or indirectly, attempted to challenge the regime’s authority in those two centres either due to greed or grievances. It is argued that these moments of crisis reveal the regime’s maintenance techniques, and can precipitate the deployment of new methods of maintenance in response to them. In order to account for the techniques that the Kazakh ruling regime applied in structuring its relationships with the oil industry, this thesis shifts the emphasis from the prevalent zhuz-horde, tribe, and clan-based approaches to Kazakh politics towards formal (corporatism) and informal (patron-client) mechanisms of control.

This investigation, covering the past two decades, attempts to determine what benefits the Soviets have sought to gain in their relationships with Middle Eastern oil-producing nations. Chapter I surveys the U.S.S.R.'s oil industry and its tentative prospects for the 1980's. Chapter II discusses Soviet involvement in the Middle East since 1950, including nationalization and oil embargoes. In Chapter III, developments less favorable to the U.S.S.R. are, analyzed: the growing influence of conservative, anti -Soviet oil-producing states and the deradicalization of other Middle Eastern nations. Chapter IV concludes that the Soviets have met with varying success in their Middle Eastern involvements. The future of their oil industry remains uncertain.

This dissertation is an examination of the American oil industry in Saudi Arabia and its influence on United States foreign policy. The study examines the Americans who went to Saudi Arabia, the effect of the oil companies on Saudi- American relations, and the American government's response to oil company actions. There is an attempt to answer such questions as: Did the oil companies exert pressure on the American government to influence governmental policy? How effective was this pressure? And, what benefits did the oil companies have from their relationship with the government? The study concludes that Aramco was instrumental in bringing official and nonofficial contact and representation between Saudi Arabia and the United States. Moreover, Aramco was instrumental in involving the American government directly in Saudi Arabia through the extension of lend-lease aid to that country. American government involvement thwarted potential British ambitions in the Saudi oil resources and resulted in the American dominance of oil interests in that kingdom. In addition, Senate investigations showed that the oil companies grossly overcharged the United States Navy on oil purchases and that the financial assistance to Saudi Arabia was made for the protection of Aramco's oil concession.

Bibliografia: p. 109-111 / Dissertação (mestrado) - Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada, Rio de Janeiro, 2014. / Estudamos a precificação de opções exóticas nos mercados de petróleo e de seus derivados. Iniciamos com uma análise exploratória dos dados, revisitando suas propriedades estatísticas e fatos estilizados relacionados às volatilidades e correlações. Subsidiados pelos resultados de tal análise, apresentamos alguns dos principais modelos forward para commodities e um vasto conjunto de estruturas determinísticas de volatilidades, bem como os respectivos métodos de calibragem, para os quais executamos testes com dados reais. Para melhorar o desempenho de tais modelos na precificação do smile de volatilidade, reformulamos o modelo de volatilidade estocástica de Heston para lidar com uma ou múltiplas curvas forward, permitindo sua utilização na precificação de contratos definidos sobre múltiplas commodities. Calibramos e testamos tais modelos a partir de dados reais dos mercados de petróleo, gasolina e gás, e comprovamos a sua superioridade frente aos modelos de volatilidade determinística. Para subsidiar a precificação de opções exóticas e contratos OTC, revisitamos dos pontos de vista teórico e prático assuntos como simulação de Monte Carlo, soluções numéricas para SDEs e exercício americano. Finalmente, por meio de uma bateria de simulações numéricas, mostramos como os modelos podem ser utilizados na precificação de opções exóticas que tipicamente ocorrem nos mercados de commodities, como as calendar spread options, crack spread options e as opções asiáticas. / We study the pricing of exotic options in the oil and its derivatives markets. We begin with a exploratory analysis of the data, revisiting statistical properties and stylized facts related to the volatilities and correlations. Based on this results, we present some of the main commodity forward models and a wide range of deterministic volatility structures, as well as its calibration methods, for which we ran tests with real market data. To improve the performance of such models in pricing the volatility smile, we reformulate the Heston stochastic volatility model to cope with one or multiple forward curves together, allowing its use for the pricing of multicommodity based contracts. We calibrate and test such models for the oil, gasoline and natural gas markets, confirming their superiority against deterministic volatility models. To support the tasks of exotic options and OTC contracts pricing, we also revisit, from the theoretical and practical points of view, tools and issues such as Monte Carlo simulation, numerical solutions to SDEs and American exercise. Finally, through a battery of numerical simulations, we show how the presented models can be used to price typical exotic options occurring in commodity markets, such as calendar spread options, crack spread options and Asian options.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Masters: Public Management, Durban University of Technology, 2017. / Constant change through global competition, technological advances and socio-economic improvement, permeates the contemporary environment in the world including certain African countries. Oil refineries are in constant progress with regards to modernisation and development. Many oil refineries all over the world are operating according to the expected scope of oil products to be produced and supplied, in line with the objectives of meeting domestic and international demand. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has one oil refinery only named Congolese Company of Oil Refining Industries (SOCIR), which has become less productive, uncompetitive, inefficient and unable to achieve its socio-economic roles or goals of supplying the country with oil products and of contributing to national socio-economic development. This study aimed to explore the socio-economic role of the petroleum refining industry in the DRC, through the case study of the SOCIR. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the factors affecting the socio-economic development in the DRC; identify the challenges experienced by SOCIR in the macro-environment; and explore the socio-economic effects the upgrading of SOCIR could have on the socio-economic situation in the DRC. In order to achieve these objectives, the study was undertaken as a quantitative survey combined with qualitative in-depth interviews to provide better understanding of the information obtained from the survey. The quantitative study was conducted on administrative personnel, academics, students, and public and private participants involved in the oil and gas industry in the DRC. Hundred participants were selected for the quantitative survey and five in-depth interviews were conducted to discuss the findings and results obtained through the quantitative study. The macro-environment variables of the PESTIE model were used to accomplish the aim and objectives of this study. The result of this study revealed that most factors affecting the socio-economic development of the DRC are related to the PESTIE instabilities, lack of economic diversity and constant national and regional ethnic or armed conflicts that are fuelled by multiple interests linked to natural mineral resources. The ageing of SOCIR infrastructure, the lack of financial capital and the lack of investments for human capital development were identified as the main challenges experienced by SOCIR. Furthermore, it was highlighted that if SOCIR upgraded with new efficient processing technology, it could increase its capacity of production, contribute on reducing the effects of total dependency on imports of all needs for petroleum products and prevent the country from exporting the total oil output, contribute on supplying the country with sufficient quality and quantity of clean oil products, and promote the oil and gas industry development and integration. The results of this study also indicated that SOCIR development could play a key role leading to economic diversity and growth with direct, indirect and induced impacts of massive job creation and contribute on reducing unemployment, poverty and inequality of many Congolese which are living under the poverty datum line. The study revealed that the outcome of the oil and gas industry integrated and developed through SOCIR modernisation strategy could steer the socio-economic change and transformation in the country. It is recommended to the government of DRC to constantly review, monitor and implement policies and regulations that could promote the oil and gas industry development in the country. The results of the study should also influence policy-makers and decision-makers on formulating innovative and creative policies, setting programmes, methods and interventions, which will enable the development of the oil and gas industry. / M