Production and pricing patterns in the international crude oil market

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5194592

Fischer, S C

This study focuses on measuring the patterns of production and pricing of the major oil-exporting countries over the past decade. It conducts a series of empirical investigations, relying largely on quarterly data, into the determinants of the distribution of oil liftings in the OPEC areas, including the significance of relative crude oil price incentives, the stability of oil prices and market shares, the components of the residual demand for OPEC oil with emphasis on fluctuations in speculative demand for oil inventories, the impact of effective capacity utilization and speculative demand on major price escalations, and the sensitivity of Saudi Arabian price preferences to evolving net demand reaction to higher oil prices and to the share it is able to retain of the OPEC market. The background for this analysis is provided by a review of the historical evolution of oil and energy consumption, production and development patterns during the postwar era, and the reversal of theoretical frameworks for analyzing the international oil market are described, and the rationale for the noncompetitive view of oil prices and production in major exporting countries is detailed. Finally, the transformation of the structure of crude oil marketing over the past decade is analyzed, emphasizing growing competitive trends in the industry mixed with residual oligopolistic tendencies.

• Research Organization: Harvard Univ., Boston, MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5194592
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020700* -- Petroleum-- Economics
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
294002 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Petroleum
DEMAND FACTORS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
MARKET
OIL-EXPORTING COUNTRIES
OPEC
PETROLEUM
PRICES
PRODUCTION