The Changing World of Oil: An Analysis of Corporate Change and Adaptation An Analysis of Corporate Change And Adaptation

This book examines broad questions of industrial change in order to explain developments in the oil industry. In contrast to most other work on this industry, firms are considered to be the dependent variables rather than the future production and demand for oil and gas. An analysis of the industry is made by examining how corporations change their operating environments and are themselves changed by their environments. Particular attention is paid to 'mega-mergers' and to industrial downsizing and outsourcing. The significance of such restructuring for the societies the companies serve is also considered and comprehensive use is made of recent theories of the firm. It shows how such theories can be used to analyze a key world-wide industry. The distinctive approach of this book will help extend readers' understanding of the oil industry beyond the more conventional studies.

Contents: 'And then there were four ...' a thumbnail history of oil industry restructuring, 1971-2005, Jerome Davis. The Boundaries of the Firm: Mega-Mergers, Transaction Costs, and Value Chains: Size and profitability in the international oil and gas industry, Petter Osmundsen, Klaus Mohn, Magne Emhjellen and Flemming Helgeland; Vertical integration and industrial restructuring: the economic organization of specific assets in the oil refining industry, Jerome Davis; Economic organization of specific assets in the offshore industry, Ola Kvaløy; Supply chain management in the oil industry: the Angolan and Norwegian cases compared, Arne Wiig; Competitive strategy and industry structure: a value configuration interpretation, Charles Stabell. Present and Future Challenges: Transnational energy companies' investment allocation decisions, Petter Osmundsen, Magne Emhjellen and Morten Halleraker; Liberalization, integration and specialization: the restructuring of the European oil industry, Øystein Noreng; Future oil resources and oil company strategies: the clash between geologists and economists and what it means for the industry, Jerome Davis; 'Why don't oil companies commit more to "renewables"?'- a corporate constraints perspective, Jerome Davis. Conclusion: Conclusion - the limits of the firm: configuration and change, Jerome Davis; Index.

Jerome Davis is Canadian Research Chair in Oil and Gas Policy at the Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada.