Low Prices Prompt More Give, Less Take

摘要

The tables have turned dramatically for those host countries emboldened by years of high oil prices to put the squeeze on oil producers and maximize state revenues. The complacency bred in a time of seeming abundance has turned to panic at the prospect of much lower prices persisting for years. Governments that had recently sought to shake down the industry with ever higher taxes are now looking to keep projects going, protect oil sector jobs, and do whatever it takes to secure new investment from an industry that’s counting every penny. Reactions vary in scope and speed, but countries with mature production and previous experience of past industry cycles are showing agility, some aspiring producers are proving flexible, and almost everybody is trying to be more accommodating in responding to the oil price shock. Economic realism has trumped political rhetoric as oil revenues and export receipts have melted away, obliging governments that were previously alert to every alleged corporate shortcoming to woo oil companies more energetically. National oil companies (NOCs) such as Petroleos de Venezuela or Brazil’s Petrobras are near bankrupt and in no shape to take on more, making it imperative to retain international oil company (IOC) involvement (PIW Feb.22’16).