Global Oil and the Nation State

pp. 255, 3 tables, 16 figures

Property rights are at the heart of the political economy of oil and gas, as indeed of all minerals. The ownership issue, however, is generally neglected, or given scant attention in the literature.

In this book, Bernard Mommer studies in great historical and analytical depth the implications of the ownership of hydrocarbon resources – either private as in the USA, or public as in the rest of the world – on the relationships between governments, oil companies, producers’ and consumers’ interests. The story is not only about contractual arrangements, fiscal regimes and the distribution of income but also about conflicts and their resolution, the role of ideology and that of the balance of power in international relations.

Owners expect to derive an income from their property rights, hence the very old system of royalties. Oil companies seek access in order to invest and obtain profits. Since politics in some countries deny access, political factors enter the scene. These include attempts to use the influence of the big Powers, to develop an ideological discourse that belittles the significance of property rights and to promote international treaties that enshrine an unfettered right to access.

1 Private Governance of Mineral Resources: Fundamentals

1.1 Private vs. Public Mineral Ownership

1.2 Private Ownership

1.3 Economic Science and Natural Resource Ownership

2 Case Studies in Private Governance

2.1 British Coal

2.2 American Oil (1860s – 1970s)

2.3 Mexican Oil (1880s – 1970s)

2.4 Conclusions

3 Public Governance of Mineral Resources: Fundamentals

3.1 Non-proprietorial vs. Proprietorial Governance

3.2 Non-proprietorial Governance

3.3 Proprietorial Governance

3.4 Sovereignty

3.5 Ricardian Rent Theory and Taxation

3.6 Politics and Natural Resource Ownership

4 The International Oil Concession System

4.1 Venezuela

4.2 Middle East

4.3 Fifty-fifty Profit Sharing

4.4 The Failure of Compromise

5 The Sovereign Landlords

5.1 Oil Prices and Production Control

5.2 Fiscal Regimes and Oil Prices

5.3 Declaratory Statement of Petroleum Policy

5.4 The OPEC Revolution

5.5 Conclusions

6 The New Role of the Consuming Countries

6.1 The International Energy Agency

6.2 Investment Treaties and Natural Resources

6.3 Targeting National Oil Companies in the Exporting Countries

7 Consuming vs. Exporting Countries: Case Studies

7.1 United Kingdom

7.2 Alaska

7.3 Venezuela

7.4 Conclusions

8 The Governance of Oil

8.1 Private Governance

8.2 Public Governance

8.3 International Governance

8.4 Global Oil and the Nation States

Global Oil and the Nation State

Contents