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National Oil Companies
This study will explore the factors that explain the organization and performance of the world's largest NOCs. It will involve in-depth case studies of over a dozen NOCs that include the enterprises that control the worl's largest oil reserves as well as several NOCs that have large marketing operations.
July 5th, 2011
Thurber, Hults, Heller publish "Norwegian Model" study in Energy Policy
PESD AnnouncementIn their Energy Policy article, entitled "Exporting the ‘Norwegian Model': The effect of administrative design on oil sector performance," PESD researchers Mark Thurber, David Hults, and Patrick Heller present work casting doubt on the idea that imitating best practices from Norway is necessarily the best route to improved oil sector performance for other countries. 
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December 13th, 2010
Nolan and Thurber identify risk as a major driver of whether countries use private or state-owned oil companies
FSI Stanford, PESD NewsIn a new working paper, PESD affiliate Peter A. Nolan and associate director Mark Thurber find that considerations of risk help explain why oil-rich states may choose international oil companies rather than state-controlled enterprises to find and extract oil in "frontier" territories.
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September 10th, 2010
PESD releases study of Nigeria's national oil company NNPC
FSI Stanford, PESD AnnouncementNigeria's national oil company NNPC is at the center of a profoundly dysfunctional oil sector in a country that some argue embodies the "resource curse." In a new study, PESD Associate Director Mark Thurber and PESD affiliated researchers Ify Emelife and Patrick Heller find that NNPC's persistent underperformance stems from its role as the linchpin of a sophisticated and durable system of patronage. Read more »
May 24th, 2010
PESD releases study of Norway's national oil company Statoil
FSI Stanford, PESD NewsNorway is lauded as the rare example of a major oil and gas exporting country that has managed to avoid the "resource curse." A new study by PESD Associate Director Mark Thurber and Consulting Research Associate Benedicte Tangen Istad looks more closely at the Norwegian petroleum experience and the role of national oil company Statoil in it. The reality is messy and political but nonetheless an impressive story of how Norway built a vibrant domestic oil and gas industry on the back of national champion Statoil and a robust system of governance that could curb Statoil's excesses as needed at a few key junctures.
April 22nd, 2010
PESD releases new Working Paper titled "Adapting to Shifting Government Priorities: An Assessment of the Performance and Strategy of India's ONGC
FSI Stanford, PESD NewsIn PESD's Working Paper #91 titled "Adapting to Shifting Government Priorities: An Assessment of the Performance and Strategy of India's ONGC," research fellow Varun Rai attempts to unpack the dynamic between India and its largest state-owned company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) devoted to exploration and production.
March 11th, 2010
Associate Director Mark Thurber traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland to meet with Wood Mackenzie
PESD NewsMark Thurber met with Wood Mackenzie, a leading oil and gas research and consultancy company based in Edinburgh, Scotland. During this visit Mark gave a presentation on conclusions drawn from PESD research on national oil companies, engaging in a fruitful dialogue on the subject with Wood Mackenzie experts.
February 23rd, 2010
Should oil-producing countries emulate the "Norwegian Model"?
FSI Stanford, PESD NewsPESD Associate Director Mark Thurber presented a paper on oil governance at the 2010 Annual Convention of the International Studies Association (ISA) held from February 17-20th in New Orleans. Read more »