[open-economics] [Project-discussion] Oil Industry

Thu Feb 19 00:52:32 UTC 2015

Theorizing an industry can be a tough challenge, yes, but the uniqueness
behind it is that you can do it with the assumptions you want.
I understand your point and since you and Volodymyr are more into the oil
industry, I will follow your suggestion to rearrange data first and then
proceed with further researches. My suggestions would not require data for
the initial phase, but if you think we will not be able to actually do
anything good out of it, then I guess we should follow your suggestion.

I'll wait for a couple of days to see everybody's interest about this and,
hopefully, we'll get enough people to quickly start doing something!

Thank you for your active participation Rodney. I really appreciate it.

2015-02-19 0:49 GMT+00:00 Rodney Beard <rodney.m.beard at gmail.com>:

> The problem is many of the variables in Libecap's models are not going to
> be in the contracts. his work is the only work I am aware of that presents
> a detailed model of upstream oil contracts. Perhaps someone else knows of
> others. the contracts vary across many countries the details will be quite
> variable. I'm arguing for something even simpler at this stage than what
> you are proposing. theory isn't going to help us that much initially we
> need to udnerstand the insitutional seting of these contracts. Before
> delving into the theory. That said Libecap has a New Palgrave article on
> unitization we should look at to see whether any of these contracts are
> characterized by that. We need to take baby steps to start with before
> trying anything sophisticated.
>
> The first point suggested by Volodymyr and yourself about rearranging the
> database is closer to what I had in mind. basically systematize and
> classify it. I really don't think more can be done initially. At least not
> if we want to do a professional job of it.
>
> Rodney
>
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 12:38 AM, Gustavo Silva <
> gustavosantaremsilva at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Rodney, that is the purpose of a theoretical study. You can analyze the
>> impact of specific variables and if we already have a decent framework to
>> work with, when it highlights the most important variables, for instance,
>> that it gets easier for us since we already have that. It is not
>> contradicting normatives or anything like that. It's saying that,
>> theoretically, these agreements are positive or negative to the society.
>> Consumer surplus and producer surplus are an easy variable to analyse -
>> theoretically. Empirically, that is a different challenge.
>>
>> My suggestion to start with this small analysis is to help us to know
>> each other more and also to get something running. Perhaps more curious
>> people will also get involved. In the future, everything that is in regard
>> to data will need a lot of inputs, work, researches and so on. Since it is
>> a more troublesome task, I am proposing to leave it to last since we can't
>> just make it happen, for now...
>>
>> Besides, we can still have our purpose of investigation but we can change
>> it later if needed. Let's say we want to investigate the same theoretical
>> model but with data. However, we'll get to the conclusion we don't have
>> enough data. It is a conclusion, although not a good one. However, we can
>> change our priorities so that we can gather some resources in order to
>> deliver our initial research.
>>
>> Does that sound more executable?
>>
>> 2015-02-19 0:30 GMT+00:00 Rodney Beard <rodney.m.beard at gmail.com>:
>>
>>> It is going to be difficult to measure welfare consequences of the
>>> contracts directly without other data and an appropriate framework. I think
>>> the first thing is to see what is there and determine an appropriate way to
>>> utilize the information. To measure welfare consequences from one contract
>>> to another how do you do that? You need an estimate of consumer or producer
>>> surplus or something? Libecap gives in some of his work hints on how to
>>> formulate a model but it relies on things like lease data. I can get lease
>>> data but I think there is plenty of stuff to mine in the contracts.
>>>
>>> Just picking a few and trying to reproduce table 1 from Libecap and
>>> smith (1999) (not 2002 made a mistake earlier) would be something. We need
>>> to walk before we can run. Making statements about the normative properties
>>> of one contract versus another at this stage is way too ambitious.
>>>
>>> Rodney
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 12:05 AM, Gustavo Silva <
>>> gustavosantaremsilva at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> @Rodney,
>>>>
>>>> Thank you. It is more clear now.
>>>> Your suggestions seems something good to when we have more people
>>>> available since it may imply a lot of work in regard to the data. Maybe we
>>>> could wait for a couple of days to see who's interested in this or not.
>>>>
>>>> However, Mr. Volodymyr suggested two interesting topics:
>>>> - Rearrange this database that is confusing for the interested parts;
>>>> - Compare PSA (production sharing agreements) signed in the developing
>>>> countries effects - Welfare, wellness, and so on.
>>>>
>>>> Personally, the latest is the best suggestion and the most exact one we
>>>> have so far. Besides, it seems more executable for us, since we're short in
>>>> human resources. I haven't thought about it through, but I think it would
>>>> be a great start. It is something that has an impact and is very important
>>>> to the surrounding societies. We could try to do a theoretical research and
>>>> study its predicted effects - simply by modeling the industry and compute
>>>> the results. Later, after gathering enough data, we could run an empirical
>>>> study. After that, since we would already more data and it would be related
>>>> to oil contracts and agreements, perhaps we could move on to your research
>>>> topic, Rodney.
>>>>
>>>> What do you guys think?
>>>>
>>>> I can't stress this enough: Thank you very much for your collaboration.
>>>>
>>>> @Iyyanki,
>>>> Thank you for your support!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 2015-02-18 23:57 GMT+00:00 Rodney Beard <rodney.m.beard at gmail.com>:
>>>>
>>>>> Briefly my idea would be to go through Libecap's work and attempt to
>>>>> apply it to a case study of one or more oil contracts. I haven't really
>>>>> thought about the details but a brief glance indicates that not all data
>>>>> will be available in the open oil contract database and we would have to
>>>>> draw on other data. I can point to where to to find some of it later. It's
>>>>> not clear to me actually what is in each contract and how it relates to the
>>>>> theory, so I think part of the task is identifying that.
>>>>>
>>>>> Table 1 Libecap & Smith 2002 summarizes the sort of information that I
>>>>> would expect to find in the open oil database. First thing is to identify
>>>>> what actually is in the database.
>>>>>
>>>>> Rodney
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 11:45 PM, Gustavo Silva <
>>>>> gustavosantaremsilva at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Rodney,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Could you elaborate on the type of framework we should look at? I
>>>>>> mean, situations like that happen often - I took advantage of something
>>>>>> similar to develop my thesis, for instance - but it was not clear the
>>>>>> specific topic that that framework covers (Prices, firm's behaviors, etc).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> However, I understand that work involves merges in oil industry!?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thank you for your collaboration.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 2015-02-18 23:38 GMT+00:00 Rodney Beard <rodney.m.beard at gmail.com>:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi Gustavo,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> as previously mentioned some of Gary Libecap's work on oil filed
>>>>>>> unitization and contracts would provide a framework for the type of data
>>>>>>> contained in the open oil database on contracts. My impression is that the
>>>>>>> work to date didn't look at this literature.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Scholar search here:
>>>>>>> https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=libecap+oil+contract&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Rodney
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 11:26 PM, Gustavo Silva <
>>>>>>> gustavosantaremsilva at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> After regaining my strength after a tough breakdown at another
>>>>>>>> project, I thought about what we could do to re-start the group. Most of
>>>>>>>> the people previously involved left the group and/or moved away to other
>>>>>>>> things and, thus, the group is kind of stumbling upon itself.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It is crucial to rapidly get involved with a couple of projects and
>>>>>>>> get some results so that people realize we're alive and kicking.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The oil industry is a very peculiar one and so I believe it is a
>>>>>>>> great start - specially since the literature is vague and not very concise
>>>>>>>> in specific matters. That is why the group has previously done a model
>>>>>>>> of an oil contract
>>>>>>>> <http://openeconomics.net/2013/10/22/open-model-of-an-oil-contract/>,
>>>>>>>> partnering up with Open Oil group. However, that research was not concluded
>>>>>>>> and we must proceed.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> In this specific thread, there are two main things I wish to know
>>>>>>>> from you:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>  1. Who's interested to get involved in this topic? I know Samira
>>>>>>>> and Rodney want to help, even though their contribution is kind of limited
>>>>>>>> due to real life commitments. However, as you understand, as more people
>>>>>>>> get involved, better for us.
>>>>>>>>  2. Which particular topics would you like to develop? Personally,
>>>>>>>> I would vote for theoretical models to, first, explain some firm's
>>>>>>>> behaviors in the market and, later, proceed with empirical analysis, using
>>>>>>>> open data - of course.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Please let us know your thoughts. Even if we are only a few
>>>>>>>> collaborating, we can deliver amazing things, I am sure!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Thank you in advance and I apologize to spam the OK's main mailing
>>>>>>>> list, but thought others would like to get involved with us.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>> Best Regards / Obrigado e com os melhores cumprimentos,
>>>>>>>> Gustavo
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>> open-economics mailing list
>>>>>>>> open-economics at lists.okfn.org
>>>>>>>> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-economics
>>>>>>>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/open-economics
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Best Regards / Obrigado e com os melhores cumprimentos,
>>>>>> Gustavo
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Best Regards / Obrigado e com os melhores cumprimentos,
>>>> Gustavo Silva
>>>>
>>>> *Open Economics <http://openeconomics.net>, Work Group Coordinator*
>>>> *Phonebloks <https://phonebloks.com/en>, Partnership Manager*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Best Regards / Obrigado e com os melhores cumprimentos,
>> Gustavo Silva
>>
>> *Open Economics <http://openeconomics.net>, Work Group Coordinator*
>> *Phonebloks <https://phonebloks.com/en>, Partnership Manager*
>>
>>
>

-- 
Best Regards / Obrigado e com os melhores cumprimentos,
Gustavo Silva

*Open Economics <http://openeconomics.net>, Work Group Coordinator*
*Phonebloks <https://phonebloks.com/en>, Partnership Manager*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/open-economics/attachments/20150219/3a4a0f0f/attachment-0003.html>