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Description of  The Oil Business and the State (Routledge Studies in International Business and the World Economy)

0367860147 pdf National oil companies are big business with about 80 percent of the worlds proven oil reserves, and they are crucial to the worlds energy supplies. They are giants, some of the worlds largest companies, measured by market capitalisation, cash flow and investment. Little is known about their modus operandi, how they make decisions about investment and production or about relations with their government-owners. However, it is known that they conduct business with a political mandate, often with multiple long-term objectives, broadly defined and hard to quantify. Unclear mandates give national oil companies leeway to pursue their own distinctive interests, apart from those of the government-owner. As investors, governments are less zealous than private investors. They generally observe multiple objectives, not only return on capital. Therefore, the senior management of national oil companies enjoy more discretionary power and consider longer time horizons than their counterparts in the private sector. Read more