We present a simple model of petroleum exploration and development that can be applied to study the performance of alternative tax systems and identify potential distortions. Although the model is highly simplified, it incorporates many factors and some of the key tradeoffs that would influence...

In this paper, we estimate the demand for road diesel in Canada using aggregate annual data for the period 1986–2008. Using a partial adjustment model (PAM), we find short and long run price elasticities of −0.43 and −0.8 respectively. However, using cointegration techniques, we obtain...

This article aims to estimate the informational rents earned by winning bidders in oil and gas exploration and production auctions in Brazil. We estimate the distributions of bids and bidders' private valuations using a nonparametric structural model and assuming independence and asymmetry...

This study presents a practical approach to oil wealth management by bringing together various dimensions (oil production and sustainability of oil reserves, impact on the economy and the balance of trade, and the impact on the fiscal balance, government debt, and the national oil fund) within a...

Oil revenues play an important role in the political economy of Iran. On average, 60% of the Iranian government revenues and 90% of export revenues originate from oil and gas resources. Current international sanctions on Iran have mainly targeted the oil production capacity of Iran and its...

This paper studies the target pricing zone (TPZ) hypothesis for crude oil by examining price clustering in the dollar digit. It is hypothesized that price clustering occurs within an established TPZ if OPEC is able to defend the upper and lower bounds through output changes. The results show...

In June 2006, Russian federal law legalized the exclusive right of Gazprom to export natural gas to Europe, and thus thwarted efforts by the European Union to bring competition to the Russian gas industry. An understanding of the motivation of the Russian government to support this export...

One of the main elements of economic sanctions against Iran due to its nuclear and military programs is crude oil exportation restrictions in addition to investment in Iranian energy related projects. Senders of such sanction are interested in understanding the impacts of such embargos on...

By reducing the demand for fossil fuels, climate policy can reduce scarcity rents for fossil resource owners. As mitigation policies ultimately aim to limit emissions, a new scarcity for “space” in the atmosphere to deposit emissions is created. The associated scarcity rent, or climate rent...

Production sharing contracts (PSCs) and buyback contracts are two important contract modes in the upstream oil industry. In this paper, we build a theoretical model to compare investment and production levels under these two contracts. Our model results show that PSCs lead to higher investment...