The companies participating in the sector. These include national oil (NOCs) and/or privately-owned oil companies (POCs).
Companies which are operators of petroleum installations have an obvious role to play in creating value, but even non-operating investors often provide valuable capital and/or expertise. Key sources of value creation include:
- (cost) the efficiency of operations (incl. exploration, production, refining, marketing) and overhead spending, as well as investment efficiency;
- technical excellence, which may support higher reserve replacement and field recovery rates, fewer fuel losses, higher-value product yield (refining) etc.;
- potential benefits from horizontal concentration (economies of scale) and vertical integration (transaction costs, economies of scope); and
- corporate strategic choices, such as asset selection, targeting of domestic vs. export markets, etc.