技术经济学英文版演示文稿c42.pptx

Over the last two decades, the emphasis in petroleum exploration has steadily shifted away from domestic oil industry and towards the international arena. The primary reason for this shift is the fact that more than 82% of the proven reserves lie outside the Western Hemisphere. The majority of the under explored and unexplored sedimentary basins (沉积盆地)of the world lie outside the United States. The probability of finding giant or large oil fields is much higher outside the United States than within the United States. The probability of finding giant or large oil fields is much higher outside the United States than within the United States. Hydrocarbon finding costs in mature basins of the United States are much higher than many other counties. See Figure 4.1 which compares the finding costs in the United States with many other countries. These technological advantages outside the United States, when coupled with the stringent environmental and other regulations in the United States, make the investments in other countries even more attractive. Figure 4.1: Hydrocarbon finding costs in the U.S. versus other countries (after Bertagne)This section will discuss various contracts used between the host country and the international oil companies to proceed with the exploration and development of potential hydrocarbon reserves. It is important to remember that the objectives of the host country and the international oil company can differ significantly. Most countries are afraid of exploitation, pollution, loss of national pride, and the repetition of the recent history at the hands of the western civilization. The host countries like to be treated as equal and be part of the development of their own mineral resources so that it will benefit the entire population of the host country. On the other hand, the international oil companies are afraid of changing tax rules, expropriation(征用) of oil and other assets, nationalization of a private company, and political uncertainti