Global Oil and Gas Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global Oil and Gas Industry - Essay Example This study analyzes the political and economic climate and how the oil and gas stakeholders position their oil exploration ventures with national and international policies. Oil exploration begins with oil platforms located on the continental shelf. The platform is attached to the ocean floor, consisting of a floating, artificial island. Improved technology makes possible and more profitable oil drilling and production in deeper waters. A floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) system is used by the offshore oil and gas industry and designed to take all of the oil or gas produced from a nearby platform, process it, and store it until the oil or gas can be offloaded onto waiting tankers, or sent through a pipeline. (Wikipedia) The world's top three oil reserves are in the Middle East namely Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq. There are two major sectors within the oil industry, upstream and downstream. Upstream is the process of extracting the oil and refining it. Downstream is the commercial side of the business such as delivery to manufacturers and gas stations. (Investopedia). Oil investors talk of an average seven-year period for exploration wh en commercial quantity reserves should have been established; and from 25 to 35 years of production and manufacturing.A most important natural resource, oil fuels the world economies. Almost every human activity in the 21st century is related to crude oil, from illumination to transport, air conditioning, heating and sewage system to use of household products such as petroleum jelly and body creams. The US which is the world's richest economy is such because it has control over cheap oil. Recently, the Latin US, Russia, and Asia are experiencing economic growth and consuming oil at an increased level. People in these countries are entering the world of consumerism, buying appliances and gadgets that are hungry for electricity; wanting to travel by car, ships, and jets that require oil to function. Oil is the lifeblood of capitalism. Developing countries need all the oil they can get to run factories, machineries, equipment and power plants. (USOilandGas.net) This is the reason the o il and gas sector continues to attract investors from all over the world. The major players in the oil and gas sector After the war in Iraq, the US, foreign oil companies and the International Monetary Fund rushed the Iraqi government to pass the Iraq law that opened the country's national oil system to foreign control. The new oil law gives foreign corporations access to