Upstream investment opportunities: Analysis in Latin America and what triggers innovation in the petroleum industry?

摘要

This record of study documents the experience acquired during my Doctor of Engineering internship at Arthur D. Little, working as a Consultant in the Upstream Global Energy Practice. Two of the projects I worked on during that period are presented as part of my record of study.;The first one was a comparison of eleven Latin American basins in order to develop a "strategic map" for potential upstream investment opportunities, based on the following ranking criteria: (1) Prospectivity; (2) Commercial Attractiveness; (3) Synergy.;Each of these ranking criteria is comprised of several factors which were scored independently. The most important aspects that had to be considered for analyzing an investment opportunity were covered in these factors.;The top four basins that resulted as being the first priority basins for investment opportunities are: Oriente, Columbus, East Venezuela, and Maracaibo basins. Conversely, the last four basins that were categorized as being the last priority basins are: Middle Magdalena, Ucayali, North Offshore Colombia, and Upper Magdalena basins.;The second project is an ongoing study on innovation in the petroleum industry. The question driving this study is What Triggers Innovation in the Petroleum Industry? In order to address this question I followed a theoretical path as well as an empirical one, concentrating on the US offshore, Gulf of Mexico.;From this study, one could say that needs have most commonly driven technology in the petroleum industry. These needs could be generated by events (embargoes, crises, etc.), oil price fluctuations, or regulations (imposition of a legal framework). In general, events generated needs that fueled the technology race. This technology race could stagnate due to the current downward staircase shape of the petroleum industry R&D expenses. This reduction in R&D expenses suggests that the sources of innovation within the industry could eventually dry up.;During this study, the evolutionary spiral and the innovation net concepts were conceived. These concepts could be used to represent the growth and future of an industry by the speed of propagation and density of the evolutionary spirals and innovation net. As an example, the innovation net of US offshore GOM was developed.