W3V18 - EP conclusion - Handout.pdf

7/25/2019 W3V18 - EP conclusion - Handout.pdf

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Oil & Gas

From exploration to distribution

Week 3 – V18 – Conclusion Exploration & Production

Jean-Claude Heidmann

W3V18 - E&P conclusion – p. 1

© IFPEN - IFP School 2015 / © TOTAL SA 2015 / © IFP Training 2015



E&P Game Rules

All the activities, presented in the previous sessions, are performed all around the world,

within very strict frameworks, varying of course, according to each country's regulations.

Each step which has been presented, such as :

• the attribution of mining rights

• the definition of the work programs

• development decisions,

• the definition of the production scheme,

• extension of licenses and, of course,

• abandonment decisions and the abandonment process are authorized, defined and

tightly controlled by each country's regulations and laws.

What are the main ones?

One of the most common ways for any oil company to obtain mining rights andexploration/production acreage is through bidding rounds.

These are organized by each country’s authorities, based on the local Hydrocarbon or

Mining Law.

The two most common contracts today are the Concessions and the so-called “Production

Sharing Contract” or “PSC”.

They define, for example, the terms and conditions of the share of production between

partners.

They also specifies the split of cost/investments and the related revenues between the joint

venture partners and the country.

On a worldwide basis, 50 to 90% of the revenue is for the host country?

These contracts were negotiated a long time before the start of production, even sometimes

before any discovery.





For each asset - which is a block or a permit - several partners create what we call a JointVenture - or JV- with only one company holding the operatorship.

Why? Exploration is a risky business.

Therefore it is very rare that one company holds 100% of one asset and for one main reason:

risk sharing.

These risks are related to: exploration risk, assets uncertainties, financial exposure, access to

technologies, portfolio management of E&P assets, etc…

The operator and partners could be either a NOC, IOC or any other E&P company such as the

ones presented during the previous course.

The Joint Operating Agreement – called JOA - is a typical contract, defining rules between

partners, and aims to manage the acreage within the Joint venture. It defines the rules of the

game for the JV partners.

E&P Actors

In countries where a National Oil Company exists, for example Saudi Aramco, Petrobras,

Statoil etc, this NOC acts on behalf of the government in the joint ventures.

The group of International Oil Companies or “IOC” includes big integrated companies called“Majors” - such as Exxon, Shell, BP, Chevron or Total - but includes also a whole range of

sizes from large Independants to very small individual companies. Their roles vary

depending on their business models.

In addition specialized contractors and service companies contribute to, and work with,

the Joint venture under “service or technical contracts”.

E&P Future challenges

To conclude, It is important to mention a few challenges that the E&P industry will face inthe coming years:





The first challenge: growing competition between the International Oil Companies, the

National Oil Companies and the contractors or service suppliers in order to secure access

to acreage and assets.

The second type of challenge, is related to the technology and research effort that will berequired to develop more and more complex fields in more and more difficult environments.

And lastly, due to this complexity, E&P activities are more and more capital intensive all

along the cycle.

The next step of the oil and gas chain is the transformation of hydrocarbons. This is the

work of the refining industry and you will learn all about that during the next course.



W3V18 - EP conclusion - Handout.pdf

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