Economics and Finance

This introductory level course will provide participants with a comprehensive overview of international accounting and financial practices in the upstream oil and gas industry. Course participants will be introduced to financial issues that are unique to the upstream industry and their accounting treatment.

Participants will learn about joint ventures including what they are, why they are used, and the accounting implications that arise when a person is involved in a joint venture.  

The final part of the course will be a thorough and comprehensive review of the types of costs that occur in the various stages of an upstream project and how these costs should be managed and controlled

During this course participants will learn about the pitfalls and challenges faced during the contract negotiations for access to oil and gas resources. 

Using petroleum industry case studies and realistic examples participants will receive a broad-based practical introduction to managing oil and gas exploration, as well as development and production contracts.  Participants will work individually and in teams to tackle a variety of industry challenges.

Participants will learn how to take hydrocarbon volumes and risks and apply a structured decision analysis process to them.  The portfolio optimization process will also be discussed in order to help participants understand how to select the “best” exploration projects.

The comparison of exploration projects under different fiscal regimes will be presented by incorporating discounted cash flow and net present value.  The basics of decision analysis for exploration will be reviewed using sensitivities, decision trees, expected monetary value, and the value of information.