Opec Essays (Examples)

OPEC
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a cartel that was formed in 1960 with an initial membership consisting of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The background milieu is that the world was in a state of decolonialisation at the time. The world oil market was dominated by seven major oil companies, all from developed nations, while the OPEC nations were all developing nations. The birth of OPEC, therefore, reflected an interest by oil-producing nations to "exercise permanent sovereignty over their natural resources in the interest of their national development" (OPEC, 2012). Several other nations would join OPEC over the coming years, including Qatar, Indonesia, UAE, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador and Gabon. Angola would also join, much later, while Gabon, Indonesia and Ecuador would later withdraw from the cartel (OPEC, 2012).

The 1970s were a period of growth and maturation for OPEC. The market for oil…

So too does the modest recovery of a portion of oil value in the first half of 2009, which saw a more consistent gain in cost due to the shifting impact of the American dollar and the Euro. As a recent report from the Dow Jones Newswires denotes, "Oil gained some ground earlier, propped up by a weaker dollar, after a report showing that consumer confidence was rising in Germany, raising hopes that the worst of the downturn had passed. A weak dollar pushes investors into commodities as a hedge against inflation." (Iacob, 1) As a result, today, the global oil price stands at just a few cents above $69 per barrel. (Bloomberg, 1)
The current condition of war and economy has, likewise, cast a shroud of haziness over the oil market. And the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has done its part to contend with the difficult uncertainty.…

S. Or European nations.
Other Players' Support

It must also be made clear that the other oil interests are supportive of the goals of OPEC to increase the price of oil, as they then can demand the same or close to the same prices, based upon market contracts and also make more profit. This is another reason why OPEC has been so successful in its bid to monopolize the market, it is supported almost fully by all industry comparables in action. (Falola & Genova, 2005, p. 23) The buyer and consumer are the only apposing characters in the game, yet this is true unconditionally in business, when cost is inflated or manipulated to increase profit buyers and therefore consumers pay more for a product that costs roughly the same amount to produce and therefore the consumer and buyer feel cheated. (Harford, 2006, p. 88)

Conclusion

No matter how much the…

Petoleum Expoting Counties (OPEC). Specifically it will discuss how the United States deals with OPEC and oil pices, and how the United States has failed to ceate a viable enegy policy that will allow the county not to depend on OPEC's contol of the oil maket. OPEC is a goup of counties that expot oil aound the wold that have banded togethe to contol the supply and pice of oil. The United States heavily depends on oil fom the OPEC nations, which is one eason that the county's oil pices have isen so damatically in the past yea o so. OPEC contols the wold when it comes to oil, and the United States has not leaned how to deal with OPEC effectively, and so Ameicans ae paying the pice at the pumps.
OPEC was fomed in 1960 by the oil-poducing counties pimaily in the Middle East as a eaction to…

productivity of an organization or business entity is determined or influenced by many factors including its public image. This paper focuses on discussing the role and significance of public or corporate image in the success of an organization. The researcher examines the public image problem at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2015. The discussion includes an analysis of the circumstances that contributed to the public image problem i.e. the numerous legal attacks. The researcher demonstrates how this problem affected the organization's relations with consumers, damaged its reputation, and affected its productivity. The final part of the paper shows how this problem was repaired through the use of social media and long-term initiative to describe tactics as part of public relations effort.
OPEC's Public Image Problem

Public image or corporate image is one of the most important aspects of an organization's success and profitability. Public image basically focuses…

Economics of Oil and Gas
The oil industry has found and produced expensive and difficult oil from new provinces at a maximum rate possible. This has left abundant, easy and cheap oil in the hands of IOPEC countries in the Middle East. The latter were forced to a swing role hence making up the difference between the world demand and what can be produced by other countries. This was contrary to the normal economic practice hence concealing gradual impact of growing shortages, depletion as well as the rising cost. The depletion of oil refers to a decline in the production of oil of a well, oil fuel or even a geographical area. The predictions of rates of oil production by Hubbert peak theory are made on the basis of prior rates of discovery as well as the anticipated rates of production. Therefore according to this theory once the peak of…

Individual Project This week submitting Proposal project. This: Introduction case study the integrated project designed tie newly acquired knowledge energy economics analysis major global issues face career.
The project will be a research paper that analyses the future demand of OPEC oil. In the research, the uncertainty range will be analyzed and researched. There is a continuous growth of energy needs globally, while the oil prospects and gas production are declining. This gives a negative outlook as the energy demands will outweigh its production. The limited amount of oil found globally is an issue that is been discussed widely, which makes oil a valuable resource. The organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) controls majority of the world's oil, which is produced by its member states.

There are many uncertainties affecting the supply of oil by OPEC members. Currently instability and tensions affecting some countries have led to disruptions in…

Sanctions in the OPEC World
What sorts of sanctions and punishments should an OPEC nation -- whose petroleum production bring riches almost beyond imagination, and hence is a player on the world's economic battleground -- receive if it launches programs aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons? That is the central question for this paper to review and critique. The best example for what would happen to an OPEC nation that works towards building a nuclear weapon can be viewed by examining what has happened to Iran and its fledgling nuclear program. This paper delves into the sanctions against Iran, and reports the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal consequences of the sanctions that are now being rescinded. This paper also projects what those painful economic and social / political realities would impose on other oil-producing nations planning a nuclear program. This narrative leads to a clear understanding of the question…

This can only be accomplished by first focusing on the entire value chains' unmet needs, and given the monopolistic approaches of De Beers in this industry, channel partners and retailers will have many unmet process needs that once served could turn into a significant competitive advantage. The initial visits to each export market would need to be on a regular basis to build trust with each member of the value chain and also stabilize distribution channels first, and second, looking for innovative and creative ways to make adaptation and customization strategies successful in each market. Only by working to create these unique competitive advantages and most importantly, building trust throughout the entire value chain can a new market entrant be financially viable against cartels like De Beers in the long run.
Question 2 - Operations Management Questions for creating De Beers as a New Brand

Part I Process Map: Using…

Collusion, therefore, has the impact of delivering higher prices to consumers than they would otherwise experience. In the long-run, this keeps all firms in the industry in business but in the short-run it is detrimental to consumers, so most forms of collusion are not allowed by regulators. The irony is that regulators are needed to maintain the "free" nature of the market -- to keep prices competitive. This is necessary when barriers to entry are high, as few new firms will enter an oligopolistic industry that is engaging in dangerous price wars.

There are examples of collusion in the world, however. OPEC is probably the biggest one. The cartel sets its output (around 1/3 of global oil output) in order to manage the level of total global output. This has the effect of managing the prices, as long as non-OPEC nations do not change their output levels to counterbalance OPEC's…

An interesting trend has been registered in the service industry, especially in the field of tourism. One of the main engines of Spanish economy in the past, now tourism in this country faces fierce competition from Eastern Europe countries. The beautiful resorts in Palma del Majorca and Costa rava must compete with low cost sea side resort, which offer similar services at incredibly low prices. Another field which needs reforms and reformulation policy is the agricultural and fishery one, which accounts only 4.1% out of GDP, although the important political forces attached to this sensible sector.

In order to be able to face the challenges and the opportunities on the regional and global market, Spain needs reforms in most fields of activity. Unemployment level is one of the highest in EU 9.2% at the end of 2005, while the rate of inflation was around 3.4 per cent in 2005, which…

he line graph suggested a linear relationship between the price of oil and political events. he increases in the price of oil were linked to negative political events. Negative political events are events that threatened the political stability of regions or of specific countries. When these events occurred there was a tendency for the price of oil to increase along with the conflict or instability. Additionally, there was a decline in the price of oil when there was a fall in the economies of countries. A reduction in the demand for consumer goods would reduce the demand for oil and oil-based products. When there was worldwide negative phenomenon such as a recession, this would also reduce the demand for oil and consequently the price.
he relationship between these variables while not measured in the study was clearly described. Based on the description it would be reasonable to conclude that there…

Oil & Gas Management
An Analysis of OPEC's Pricing Strategy: Has Saudi Arabia underestimated the resilience of U.S. shale oil?

The global environment for oil and gas has changed significantly in just the last few years as a new set of market conditions have been created that can be defined by an increase supply in oil. These supply increases have largely come from technological developments that have allowed for new forms of oil to extract such as shale oil which has in turn reduced the dependence on the cartels and Middle Eastern oil (Doshi & Corrigan, 2015). There have also been changes in the demand due to technology development as well. Engines and efficiencies have reduced the total demand for oil per user despite the fact that the number of total oil and gas users have increased rapidly in the developing world.

The oil industry serves as the foundation for…

This invariably means reducing the profit margin for the producers, which economists feel has long-term implications. That is the lack of smooth inflationary shock transmission leads not only to reduction in production output but also contributes to reduction in future investments. Thus, inflationary shocks due to oil price hikes are more long lasting in China. [Tang et.al, 2009]
Sub-Saharan Countries

The impact of Oil price explosion is nowhere as pronounced as in sub-Saharan Africa and in particular the oil importing countries. Among the lower economies those that are oil intense such as the sub-Saharan countries are bound to suffer more -- as much as 3% of their GDP. Oil dependence has not change much with only 6% reduction between 1990 and 2005. This is because these countries have a total dependency on oil as their major source of energy compared with other developing countries in Asia. For instance, India and…

Geopolitical Energy Competition
One hundred years ago, oil supplies were a non-issue. There was limited demand for oil, and hence limited supply. Today, oil is the most important factor shaping the geopolitical landscape. Global demand for oil is estimated to be 84.6 million barrels per day (OPEC, 2009). OPEC produces 24.845 million barrels per day, and non-OPEC nations produce a further 50.7 million barrels per day for a total production of 75.545 bpd (OPEC, 2008). Many observers believe that the world has already passed "peak oil," that is to say the point at which the majority of the world's oil reserves have been discovered and production maximized (Deffeyes, 2003). Demand in the United States is presently estimated to be 20.7 million barrels per day, some 68% of that going to meet transportation needs (Energy Information Administration, 2007). However, demand from emerging economies such as those in India and China are…

A. (RECOPE, S.A), based on Costa Rica. There is also the Columbian nationalized oil conglomerate operating under the name Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos (ECOPETROL). oth of Chevron's largest global competitors are nationalized by the nations they operate in, which make pricing and market execution strategies in these specific countries difficult. In addition, there are significant cultural differences between the U.S. And these countries as well. As a result, there continues to be a strong push towards creating more co-ownership of oil refineries, production centers and operations between U.S..-based companies working in the area and national governments. In the case of the razilian government, who approached Chevron about such an arrangement in 2008 specifically for partnership with Petroleo rasileiro S.A., Chevron declined to enter into a nationalized-based alliance with the company and nation and instead sold the assets of their refineries to rasileiro S.A. instead (Wall Street Journal, 2008). In Mexico,…

If Nigerian local content law is not complied with equires licensee to submit a detailed programme for recruitment and training of Nigerians
(Nigerian Local Content Policy)

2.3. History of the LCL

The Local Content Law was signed into law in April 2010 by acting President Goodluck Jonathan. In brief, the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Local Content Development Bill 2010 places "…obligations on upstream oil companies in the areas of finance, community and local workforce" (Examining Nigeria's Local Content Act). The process that led to this Bill began in 2007. The initiator of the Bill, Senator Lee Maeba, provides some interesting insight into the originating impetus that led to the final acceptance of the Act. He states,

I saw that there is no law guiding the activities of Nigerian companies in the oil and gas industry and because of that, there has been a capital drift...and that is the reason…

The political situation in the Middle East is extremely volatile. The political situation in the Middle East can have a dramatic impact on oil supplies. However, threats to the oil supply are beginning to emerge outside of the region as well. For instance, there are political situation beginning to arise in Russia, Venezuela, and Nigeria (Federal Reserve, 2004). Political instability can disrupt the supply of oil from a particular region.
eather can also take a toll on the production and distribution of oil and oil products. For instance, hurricane Katrina disrupted oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. This caused a temporary shortage until the services could be restored. There are other external factors that can effect oil prices that are beyond the control of the companies.

Oil futures represent clamed to oil to be delivered at a specified price and at a specified date and location. If the price…

Oil replays 1980s bust discusses the collapse in oil prices in the mid-80s versus the collapse in oil prices in the second half of 2014. He notes that while the pace of decline was similar, than the reasons behind the decline are different. The author notes that time is an important variable. Prior to hydraulic fracking, oil projects were massive in scope and scale, and took many years and billions to bring to fruition. As a consequence of this, the supply of oil on world markets was fairly easy to predict. New oil would not suddenly materialize from just anywhere. Today, the time lapse between when oil is discovered and when it hits the market is much shorter, and the cost is lower. The wells in the shale fields are smaller, so the entire exploration and extraction cycle (i.e. The cash conversion cycle) is shortened considerably. This also encourages new…

9 times greater" than the daily average imported in 1973 (www.ecologicinvestor.com). The importation of oil is the "largest single component" in the U.S. annual trade deficit; the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, quoted by Ecologic Investor, points to the trade deficit for the first 8 months of 2008 -- $281.14 billion. That translates to $4.21 billion annually (estimated).
Saudi Arabia needless to say generates a majority of its revenue from the exporting of petroleum; and while the U.S. trade deficit grows based on oil imports, Saudi Arabia accumulates a surplus, based on oil exports. And meantime Saudi Arabia and fellow members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have been attempting to "promote higher levels of trade between themselves by removing barriers to the free exchange of goods, services and capital," but their efforts are being challenged by the lack of a "common external tariff" (Nations Encyclopedia). That goes to indicate…

All these factors have added too many variables to the Middle East, an important region for crude oil production" (Xuequan, 2008).
4. Conclusions

The improved standards of living have contributed significantly to an increase in the population's demands. And to satisfy these demands, with the ultimate scope of registering higher profits, the American corporations have abused the natural resources and are now moving towards the resources in other countries. Two such vital resources are crude oil and natural gas. The situation of gas is quite stable, but that of oil is critical. Based on limited natural resources, a weakening American dollar, speculative operations on the international market, but also the regulations implemented by OPEC and the conflicts in the Middle East, the price of oil has sky rocked - and it is likely to continue its ascendant trajectory.

eferences

Leonard, a., 2008, the Story of Stuff, http://storyofstuff.ethicalbrand.org/last accessed on May…

Rising Cost of Fuel
The price of light, sweet crude oil on NYMEX has been above $40/barrel since late July 2004. y October the price of crude oil had temporarily surpassed $55/barrel. In the United States (U.S.), the Consumer Price Index rose by 0.6% compared to 0.2% for September. This was driven by a 4.2% increase in energy costs. In this paper, we will examine two arguments: the primary cause, or causes of the rise in the price of fuel and the impact on the U.S. economy.

The cause of the rise in fuel prices is the current demand for petroleum in relation to the supply. High demand is coming from increased industry in emerging third world nations including India and especially China which is developing a large car culture and whose manufacturing bases have grown very rapidly in recent years. Consumption in 2004 compared to 2003 according to DOE…

2007 Economic Crisis on American Car market
Effect of the 2008 global economic crisis on automotive industries

Crisis in the United States

Crisis in Canada

Crisis in ussia

Crisis in European markets

Crisis in Asian markets

Effects by other related crisis events

In this paper, we will review the effects of 2008 global automotive crisis. Our main focus will be on the American car manufacturers and the negative impact they suffered due to the crisis. We will also have a look at how this crisis had affected car manufacturers in other major markets around the world notably Europe, Canada and the prominent Asian markets such as China and India. Finally, we will look at some of the other factors which were important to this event namely the energy crisis since the cost of fuel is directly related to the car industry.

Introduction

The automobile industry is a very important part…

It could not be expected that these measures would have an immediate impact on gasoline demand. Changes are likely to take some time before the real impact is felt. However, this slowing of demand growth is indicative that the process has begun and that it will continue to grow in the future.
Exploring Alternatives

The answer to resolving the issue of gasoline price in the future is the same for both short- and long-term goals. In order to control gasoline prices, supply and demand must be kept in a near-equilibrium state. However, OPEC will never allow this to happen, as this means that they are unable to maximize their profits by using their intricate knowledge of price elasticity and the market. The only reaction that the U.S. government has is to find alternatives to OPEC gasoline and to continue to find ways to decrease U.S. demand. Decreases in U.S. demand…

This keeps prices all for all users of oil high at present, given the overall escalation of users in total and insulates the price of gas and oil from subtle increases and decreases upon the part of individual suppliers. (Halcomb, 2005)
However, other possible causes may be simple hysteria and gouging. Historically, even when there has been a wholesale price of gas of $1.45 a gallon, gas stations have been able to make a profit by using the media frenzy to gouge customers, sell it for as much as $2.15.

A third factor may be simple unwillingness upon the part of customers in the United States, in the developing world, and in other nations that depend on crude to limit their use of oil, regardless of gasoline prices. "The people who are honest are going to pay for their gas no matter what the price is," said one gas station…

Furthermore, such a measure would cause alienation from major oil corporations as well as countries capable of oil refining. For Middle Eastern countries this is especially damaging, because during the 1980s, countries such as Saudi Arabia had just started a cycle of strong borrowing to develop their oil refining infrastructure. By decreasing the profit from refineries, OPEC nations that developing these capabilities will lose much more money than their initial investments, which would cause them to sink into either a financial crisis or default on loans from the World Bank and the United States. Although in the short-term these measures would help domestic producers, refiners, etc. It is not a measure that will have any sustainable benefit, because overall this policy could not last more than a year because of international pressure. Also, since U.S. domestic oil production is severely limited in that it could not possibly supply the entire…

Marathon
This question would be better answered either a) if the case had been supplied or b) if I was a petroleum production engineer.

In order to determine the impact of changes in the price of crude on the price of gasoline at retail, the different cost components need to be considered. The U.S. Energy Information Administration outlines the different components that contribute to the retail price of gasoline. The four key drivers of gasoline prices are the price of crude; refining costs and profits; distribution and marketing costs and profits; and taxes. There are also profit margins to retailers and possibly other actors in the industry as well that need to be considered. All told, as of 2009 the breakdown of the different components assuming an average price per gallon of $2.34 at retail was as follows: 61% crude oil, 18% taxes, 11% refining costs and 10% distribution and…

S. provided important intelligence from a spy plane (SR-71 Blackbird). Thanks to the spy plane pinpointing where the enemy forces were gathering, Israel could pound those forces from the air and in time -- thanks also to U.S. military equipment being shipped to Israel -- the war was won by Israel.
But the OPEC nations knew how much the U.S. depended on Arab oil supplies; as Rudiger Graf writes in the peer-reviewed journal Diplomatic History, the use of an embargo to punish America and the Netherlands was "…watershed in history, signifying the growing dependency of industrialized nations on foreign oil and a power shift in the global economy" (Graf, 2012, 185). The "oil weapon" had never been used by Muslim nations against the est, and the point was to for America and other "…economically powerful countries to comply with their political demands" (Graf, 185).

Meanwhile the embargo caused gasoline prices…

Because the cost associated with fueling the cars will increase, individuals might come up with ways of reducing the consumption of fuel, they will thus use public transportation. When a rise in the prices of gas results into an increase in transportation ridership, the revenues from fare are likely to rise, and the extra costs of fuel for the transport operator will be offset partly. Numerous news reports in the United States are indicating that transportation ridership has gone up with the increase in the prices of the gases; however, little research has been done to prove this association. When there is an effect on ridership, it will be fascinating to notice whether the result is short-lived or a long lived phenom-enon. Therefore, a rapid price increase is capable of resulting into a jump in transport ridership. To become accustomed to the high prices of gas, transporters might buy additional…

The member nations of OPEC are relatively few, making it easier for them to form a producing conglomerate; the idea of a consumer conglomerate is untenable, as OPEC will always be able to find an extensive enough market for its commodity with other countries not in this conglomerate, and thus they can still control the price.
Conclusion

The oil industry is not fueled by supply or demand so much as it is by the simple motivator of most economic decisions -- greed. Economies exist precisely because there is competition for limited resources. Any more, the resources that are actually necessary for life are not limited in the developed world, and the competition for unnecessary resources ends up depriving other regions of basic necessities. The oil producing countries of the world are cashing in on the system like and "intelligent" economic actor.

orks Cited

Econbrowser. "New study of the effects of…

Increased oil prices and environmental concerns have increased the interest in nuclear power. However, building nuclear plants is not such an easy thing to achieve. For example, in order to build nuclear plants the United States government must reach a certain level of progress regarding nuclear waste management, creating a suitable regulatory framework for licensing nuclear plants that present a low or acceptable safety risk (Council on Foreign elations, 2006).
Given the above mentioned information, it is expected that the United States dependence on foreign oil to continue to manifest for the following decades. Even more, the country's oil consumption will slowly increase each year. It is not possible for any nation to completely reduce its dependence on oil. However, this foreign oil dependence can be reduced by implementing a series of government policies directed towards developing alternative energy sources, and by influencing individual consumption towards such sources.

eference List…

The implications of this vulnerability to volatile oil prices is simple; 'high crude prices must encourage European governments to make investments in energy sources other than oil' (Wielaard, 2005, p.1).
The negative economic impact of rising oil prices is typically more severe for developing countries than for OECD (Birol, 2004, p.2). This is currently the case as high oil prices 'are badly affecting many developing countries' (Schlein, 2005, p. 1). The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) recently stated that 'the high cost of oil is placing a heavy burden on poorer nations that spend around five-percent of their gross domestic product on oil. This, compared with the two-to-four percent that wealthier nations pay' (Schlein, 2005, p.1).

There are several reasons why oil-importing developing countries struggle more over high oil prices than their developed counterparts. Energy dependency and intensity is greater in developing nations than developed ones; this is…

5TH FLEET IN BAHAIN AND THE U.S. AND EU OIL EMBAGO IN IAN
OLE OF THE U.S. 5TH FLEET IN BAHAIN AND THE U.S. AND EU OIL EMBAGO IN IAN

ole of the U.S. 5th fleet" in Bahrain

ole of the U.S. 5th fleet" in Bahrain

foreign aid to Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is centered, constitutes directly to the U.S. Government's aims to maintain safety in the Persian Gulf. Bahrain is the only Arab state that has led one of the Coalition Task Forces that move around the Gulf, and has issued to move its flagship in support of the formation counter-piracy mission. As suggested by Edward & Marolda (1998) U.S. aids assists Bahrain, which have no oil wealth of its neighbors, get the training and equipment it requirement to operate alongside U.S. air and naval forces. U.S. military access to Bahrain also uplifts the operations in Iraq,…

An environmental loudmouth and the media are specifically there to get advice about publicly amplifying our efforts, because utliately this affects everybody and we want everybody to get on board with the effort. BP needs to know that if they don't listen to us, that it will be them vs. The world. This gets us more bargaining power.
Getting cooperation between these different groups could prove a challenge. While we all believe in the same general objective, I do not doubt that everybody's interests are different, such that it might to tough to get agreement with regards to objectives and methods. However, we will seek to find common ground and start pushing BP to make improvements on the most critical areas first, like increased protection against spills.

Challenges

The first challenge is to get agreement about what we will push for specifically. Different groups have differnet interests and objectives, so…

While Cadbury was initially vulnerable resulting in this take over, Kraft had to borrow heavily to afford the final price of 850p per share. In the coming months and years, Kraft will have to balance against recovering the money put into this acquisition (Wiggins, 2010). A risk, many British politicians and citizens alike fear will mean the end of their signature chocolate in an effort by Kraft to increase their profit margin quickly.
Case Study 2: Discussion

The Kraft acquisition of Cadbury is a corporate negotiation making headlines across the world both for the magnitude of the deal and the incredible hostility which marked the negotiations prior to the final signing of the agreement. Cadbury wound up in a financially vulnerable position after several strategically bold maneuvers ultimately resulted in a poor stock showing for the newly de- merged Dr. Pepper Snapple drinks company, and the reliance of Cadbury on…

A large body of literature has treated many different aspects of these influences on Asia, Europe and the United States (Busser & Sadoi, 2003). The importance of the study relates to the current trends taking place in Libya where aggressive steps have been taken in recent years to normalize relations with the international community. For example, Libya opened up its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction to international scrutiny and renounced terrorism as a political tool (Libya, 2010). Moreover, the country's political leadership has been equally forthcoming in its efforts to normalize their relations with Western nations since 2003 (Libya, 2010). More recently, Libya has been removed from the U.S. State Department's list of states that sponsor terrorism in 2006 and in 2008, Libya joined the United Nations as a nonpermanent member on the UN Security Council during the 2008-2009 term (Libya, 2010).
Other signs that clearly point to…

Few states taxes increased during the run-up of early 2008.
Refining costs also account for 19% of the price at the pump. Most refining takes place close the market, although the U.S. is served by some refineries in the Caribbean. The greatest amount of U.S. refining capacity is along the Gulf Coast (EIA, 2009). There is no evidence that an increase in refining costs occurred to justify the price increases recorded. However, there was a capacity shock during Hurricane Ike. The impending hurricane forced refineries to cease operations. The threat of supply shortages caused a rebound in prices, which had been declining over the course of the summer prior (Schoen, 2008).

The final variable, marketing and distribution costs, is often cited as a source of gas price spikes. Gasoline companies are handed significant blame, although more often than not they are merely the messenger that the public is shooting. The…

Production and Operations Management
Explain one possible option that Marathon could take to reduce the time involved in the production process.

Of the many potential strategies for reducing the time-to-market between initial arrival of the various grades of oil in the Gulf of Mexico-based receiving location through the refining process and finally to delivery of gasoline to Marathon retail locations, the company has many options for streamlining their supply chain. By alleviating the major lags in their supply chain logistics their entire production process could be significantly accelerated. As the video shown by Marathon indicates, the entire production process is more push-driven than governed by forecasts.

What Marathon Oil needs is to have a much greater level of intelligence and insight into their retail chains' demands. As the presentation from Marathon shows, the entire production system is very push-based, instead of taking into account variations in demand by retail channel…

Environmental Hazards as a Consequence of Crude Oil/Natural Gas Exploration, Transportation, Refining and Storage
Ever since crude oil was first successfully drilled in the U.S. In Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859, the demand for oil has only been increasing over the years in countries all over the world. (Camden, 1883) Crude oil, from which various petroleum products are obtained, is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon component found trapped in rocks below the earth. The word "petroleum" means "rock oil" or "oil from the earth." Natural gas is another form of hydrocarbon that is also found in nature. oth crude oil and natural gas have excellent combustibility and are good sources of energy. Crude oil is not used in the extracted form; but it is refined to obtained products such as gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), naphtha, kerosene, gas-oil and fuel oil. Secondary products during the purification of crude oil are obtained are…

Price Setting
Setting the right price is important for any product. There are many different approaches, based on the different variables that can be considered. For a new product in the marketplace, getting the price right is all the more difficult, because there is no prior data to help gauge the strength of the current brand, the price elasticity of demand or other factors that might come into play when pricing an established product. However, there is always an opportunity to adjust prices if the price of a good is not delivering the optimal financial results for the company. Thus, it requires management to have an understanding of pricing strategy in order to determine the most suitable price in the marketplace.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that price is one of the five Ps of marketing. Thus, the pricing strategy must be aligned with the other…

Mexico's Trade Strategy

Mexico has pursued a three-dimensional trade strategy perhaps more diligently than even the United States according to Schott (Studer & Wise, 2007). Mexico has been an active participant in multilateral talks since its GATT accession in 1986 and was the host country for the special Summit of the Americas in Monterrey and for the hemispheric trade talks in Puebla. Mexico is perhaps most famous as the instigator of NAFTA as well as many other FTAs with countries around the world including key industrial markets such as the European Union (EU, The European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and Japan. In addition, Mexico entered in FTAs with olivia, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, The G3 (Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela), Honduras, Israel and Nicaragua during the period January 1995 to June 2001 (Schott in Studer & Wise, 2007). It is important to emphasize that Mexico has many more FTAs…

orkers can increase their own value in the workplace by improving their work assets, through education, effort or tenure.
In addition, the U.S. economy would not necessarily benefit. A higher national minimum wage would distort the market for labor in some states that currently face conditions leading to lower wages. This disruption of the market could reduce demand for labor and could also result in a less efficient market. In addition, increases in production costs are often passed on to consumers. hile the minimum wage worker may earn more, inflation will increase, essentially transferring wealth from all consumers to a small group of workers. This does not imply the creation of new wealth, only a redistribution of it in a manner that increases economic inefficiency. In addition, a higher minimum wage entices workers into the job market to the detriment of other workers, and many minimum wage earners are young…

Toward the end of the decade, Wall Street investment firms began hiring PhDs in mathematics and physics to create incredibly complex algorithms capable of modeling elements of the stock and futures markets. In most cases, the creators of these algorithms knew next to nothing about the financial industry, and the executives who employed them knew (literally) nothing about the mechanisms their firms had begun to rely on for their trading strategy. Destabilization of the Home Mortgage Industry:
In the early 1970s, stock analysts at Salomon Brothers, another Wall Street investment firm, developed a new kind of security based on home mortgages, called mortgage-backed securities. In principle, this allowed the conversion of illiquid (i.e. non- tradable) assets like the debt represented by home mortgages to be converted into a tradable commodity for profit. This new form of commercial transaction evolved into incredible levels of complexity after the widespread incorporation of mathematical…

Using web marketing strategies combined with educational initiatives -- such as downloadable podcasts and educational websites with a marketing and advertising component might be one way to capitalize upon this trend (Trade blocs, neoliberalism, and the quality of life in Latin America, 2004, UCLA).
hat potential impact does the most important trade bloc have on the marketing and business strategies of Apple Computer and general website marketing?

Mercosur has taken a hostile attitude, in general, to large estern companies. It believes such companies are profiting off of less-developed nations and prevent such nations from fully entering the developed world as global players. This reflects, to some extent, the attitude of the citizens of the nations of Mercosur countries. Deemphasizing the 'Americanness' of Apple might be necessary in Brazil, in contrast to nations where the American quality of a product might have more cache.

Does this trade bloc represent primarily economic…

Oil Price Fluctuation
Actions adopted by the government to reduce or limit price fluctuation

Oil Price Fluctuation iii

This report will focus on the actions adopted by the government to reduce the fluctuation in oil prices. A brief introduction is discussed in the assignment. The reasons are also described in the assignment for which the oil prices fluctuate. This assignment also puts light on the price stability and why governments need to intervene to reduce the volatility in oil prices. Strategies adopted by the government to stable the oil prices are also discussed.

easons of price fluctuation

Price stability

Government intervention to stable the oil prices

Energy conservation

Hedging

Strategic oil reserves

Adopt assistance

Conclusion

eferences

Actions adopted by the government to reduce or limit price fluctuation

Introduction

The prices of oil were increased in 2007 to 2008. The oil prices were highly fluctuating in 2007 between the months January…

disrupting America's economic system is a fundamental objective of terrorists
Even as the world continues to struggle with the terrible shock from the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, one principle lesson has already become clear: disrupting our economic system is a fundamental objective of terrorists.

Prior to September 11, our economic environment was certainly not immune to terror, in comparison to many other nations; we lived relatively terror-free. Now, however, the aftermath of the terrorist attacks serves as a grim reminder that international relations and security developments can dramatically affect economic performance.

US History is replete with countless examples when macro fundamentals are overtaken by what economists refer to as, exogenous shocks -- surprise events that can profoundly and often unpredictably shift political and economic resources, and send even the most accurate forecasts astray. Commodity shocks, such as the two OPEC jolts in the 1970s, are classic…

Saudi
For most of its existence, Saudi Arabia's economy has been driven by revenues from its massive oil fields. While this has allowed the country to have a healthy balance sheet, it has also discouraged investment in other areas. Other countries in the region have begun to realize that having an oil-dependent economy is not sustainable in the long run. Nations with burgeoning populations and limited resources tend to be unsustainable. That lack of sustainability can be seen today in milder forms, such as high unemployment among youth, social problems like abuse and deviant behaviour and stunted economic growth.

The facts concerning the Saudi economy reflect the structural issues in the Saudi economy. The country has a population of roughly 27 million, a third of whom are non-citizen immigrants. Nearly 50% of these are under the age of 25 and the median age is 26.4 years. This means that the…

Oil prices across the globe are characterized by major swings and fluctuations, which have attracted considerable attention from scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. The increased attention in oil prices are attributable to the fact that they have significant impacts on the global economy. Based on academic literature, oil prices fluctuate for various reasons including supply disruptions, changes in global demand, and precautionary intentions. For instance, in the aftermath of the 2008 global economic recession, oil prices fell because of an overall decline in global demand (Lee & Huh, 2017). Fluctuations in oil prices have been evident since 2012 to the end of 2016 because of various factors that contribute to changes in these prices. Despite these various factors, there are several measures that are utilized to predict oil prices in the future. This paper discusses the reasons for changing oil prices, oil price fluctuations between 2012 and 2016, and prediction of…

.....gas station owners have no control over the price that they pay for petroleum, and only limited control over what they will end up charging the customer. The base price for crude oil is set on the basis of global supply and demand. Local prices reflect a variety of factor -- the crude price, cost of refining, cost of transportation, oil company markups and taxes (EIA, 2016). The price that consumers pay therefore reflects a variety of factors, almost none of which either the consumer nor the gas station owner has control over. This paper will discuss these factors in further detail, in order to clarify the dynamics of the oil market to better prepare to make a decision on buying four gas stations. GDP Growth Rate

There are two dynamics at play here. First, the GDP of the area in which the stations are located influences gasoline consumption, by…

Of course, this does not include such amenities as drilling exploratory wells, the cost of pipelines and floating facilities, such as oil platforms from which most of the drilling takes place. However, several important advantages linked to this discovery and to similar oil endeavors is that oil companies "will have to pay the U.S. less taxes, royalties, oil payments and other levies" as compared to drilling for oil within the national water boundaries of other oil-producing nations" (Gold, 2009, Internet), many of whom are members of OPEC.
In addition, there are plans for exploring a second Lower Tertiary site in the Gulf of Mexico known as the Chinook and Cascade Prospects which was discovered by a Brazil-based oil exploration company earlier in 2009. However, as compared to the BP discovery, this site will require a hugely expensive floating production platform which will be used for storage and as an off-loading…

Given the high degree to which AIDS impedes global economic integration, in particular of sub-Saharan Africa, it would be reasonable to think that such a transnational issue would bring nations and institutions together to a much higher degree than we see.
Overall, the various aspects of the international system have enabled the expansion of global economic integration. Regimes, institutions, and regional interests bring nations together to meet common objectives. As rational actors, nations sometimes impede global integration, be it over a domestic issue or a transnational one. No aspect of the current international system, however, specifically impedes global economic integration. Only when a nation takes itself out of the international system, as has occurred in North Korea, Cuba, Zimbabwe and a handful of other countries, does economic integration become fully impeded. Therefore we can reasonably conclude that the international system, on balance and with a modicum of cooperation on the…

One example of this is the "famous egg box metaphor of international society (in which states were the eggs, and international society the box), one might see this unevenness as a pan of fried eggs. Although nearly all the states in the system belong to a thin, pluralist interstate society (the layer of egg-white), there are sub-global and/or regional clusters sitting on that common substrate that are both much more thickly developed than the global common, and up to a point developed separately and in different ways from each other (the yolks)" (Buzan and Gonzalez-Pelaez, 2005: 6).
For example the EU and North America, for example are "sub-global interstate societies that are more thickly developed within themselves. Lesser attempts to create thicker, liberal, regional interstate/international societies by cultivating joint economic development can be found in...various other regional economic cooperations," such as OPEC (Buzan and Gonzalez-Pelaez, 2005: 6). "Above some of…

Much oil is also used for heating, especially during winter. Therefore, new commitments toward researching, developing, and making available, on a large scale, alternative sources of heating must be made, and this time kept, as well.
Conclusion

To try seriously, however, to identify and describe one core "solution" to oil dependency; that is both untested and would nevertheless work, in this author's opinion, is (and especially given even the current extent of research and understanding into the gnarly depth of the problem and its myriad continuing causes) not only a fruitless exercise, but extremely naive. Instead, the answer lies in not one solution but combinations of many: starting with will; and continuing (perhaps indefinitely) with persistence, patience, personal and public sacrifice; and a loss of national hedonism; self-centeredness; arrogance, and a sense of personal and national entitlement. All of this, in combination, albeit gradually, could still, if the will were…

Consequently, his observations concerning the business climate in Saudi Arabia with respect to the significance of religion in the Kingdom can be considered authentic. According to Indris, with respect to the perception of performance and contractual obligations among Saudis, "It should be noted that the issue is not with the belief itself but rather with people's misguided interpretations of the belief and Islam teachings. While Islam teaches that ultimate control is in the hands of God, it also teaches that people should exert their utmost efforts to better their lives" (p. 38). These issues have special salience for foreign direct investors who may experience disputes based on such misinterpretations that cannot be predicted but must be expected. In this regard, Idris concludes that, "Misguided interpretations have a strong impact on the business environment and the commitment to setting and meeting goals and targets in the kingdom. Accountability in running businesses…

Functions of Management at Shell Oil
How External Factors Affect the Four Functions of Management at Shell Oil

There are many external factors influencing or affecting the four functions of management at Shell Oil. The intent of this analysis is to evaluate each of the four functions of management, explaining what external factors most influence their operations and performance. As Shell Oil is a process goods producer that transforms raw materials into finished goods, the factors most affecting the four functions of management are supply chain focused.

Planning

Shell Oil relies heavily on the Supply Chain Operations eference (SCO) model as a means to mitigate sourcing oil, gas and raw materials needed for creating their finished goods (azmi, Jolai, Hezarkhani, 2008). Strategic planning at Shell is highly dependent on how well integrated the company is with suppliers in the areas of exploration, mining or extraction, processing and refining oil- and…

economic history has shown that the U.S. dollar has fallen from its previously held top position in the world market. This fall has affected all other existing currencies, and particularly the Euro.
Many hold that the major problem entailed in the current-account deficit of the United States began with Richard Nixon removing the U.S. currency from the gold standard in 1971. The oil supply of the world was then traded in U.S. fiat dollars, and the dollar began its rise as the dominant currency in the world. Basically, the United States was free to print dollars, and this influenced other countries and their economies, as their dollar reserves had to be vast in order to pay off IMF debts and purchase energy. In contrast, the United States was able to import large amounts of goods and services at fairly low costs.

The Euro however became a serious rival to the…

While on one hand, the Nile gets the highest discharge from rainfall on the highlands of Ethiopia and upland plateau of East Africa, located well outside the Middle East region; on the other hand, discharge points of the other two rivers, Euphrates and Tigris, are positioned well within the Middle East region, prevailing mostly in Turkey, Syria along with Iraq. In other areas, recurrent river systems are restricted to the more northern upland areas of Iran and Turkey, in common with the coastline of Levant (Peter eaumont, Gerald H. lake, J. And Malcolm Wagstaff, 1988).
The conflict in the Future

It is widely believed by many experts that those who control the waters in the Middle East; control the Middle East; and those who control the Middle East; control the oil supply of the world (David M. Hummel, 1995). From the above mentioned facts it is clear that the water…

(Drawing the Line on Energy) the newly emerging economies are also trying to find more and more oil for their economies to advance rapidly.
There is a lot of difference among the countries in terms of the amount they produce and in terms of the quantities they export. In terms of production the order is Saudi Arabia, United States, ussia, Iran, Mexico, China, Norway, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, United Kingdom, Kuwait and Nigeria. In terms of exports, the order is Saudi Arabia, ussia, Norway, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Kuwait, Nigeria, Mexico, Algeria and Libya. It is clear that USA does not export as it consumes all the quantities that it produces. The need is for USA is to ensure that it gets all the oil it needs and that was probably the reason to attack Iraq. One of the persons contributing to that view was the Vice President…

An American who spent sometime in Germany recounted his experience [Will Higher Gasoline Prices Inspire Lifestyle Changes, 2001] of energy prices in that country, "When I lived in Germany, the price of gasoline went from the equivalent of $2.50 per gallon to $3.25 per gallon over night. The Bundesregierung had added another $0.75/gallon gas tax, in addition to the existing $2.00 per gallon gas tax. (That's right: $2.75 out of every $3.25 per gallon was Federal taxes.)," He remembered the effect on prices on his use of transport, "I used the public transport system, easily the best in the world."

This is the direction our country will have to go too. Do we allow this country to be totally dependent on imported oil? Should we keep gasoline prices low to prevent development of alternatives or take necessary steps now to create a change in the present Gas Guzzling life style?…

Peak Oil
The idea of peak oil has been the subject of much debate in the recent years because of the human population's increasing demands on energy. The term "peak oil" refers to the point at which global petroleum extraction has reached its maximum. Following this moment, petroleum will quickly run out and there will be none left. ithin an individual oil dig, there is a period where oil can be extracted until the oil has all been removed. The belief of some is that there will be a global moment of peak oil wherein all of the oil fields in the world will become used up. Some feel that easily accessed petroleum locations have all been found and used (Inman 1). In the future, oil companies will have to take more drastic measures to find deeper petroleum deposits in the earth, leading to worsened environmental conditions. Other experts believe…