Petroleum Economics, Business and Decision Making

Course Overview:

Engineers, geoscientists and economists perform technical work to support the "business" objectives of the organisation they work for (corporation, government). It is therefore important that they understand that "business" because it will influence the judgements they make. Economic evaluations provide the main source of the organisation's information by which investment and operational decisions are made regarding the most effective use of resources. It is through these decisions corporate value is being created (or destroyed).

There are many subtleties and assumptions that underlie the apparently straight-forward economic calculations that are often seen. Consequently, a fundamental understanding of the concepts behind economic evaluation and of techniques for performing them within a corporate decision making context, are essential skills. Furthermore, as all investment decisions are made without knowing what the future holds, understanding the uncertainties we face in any given decision situation is essential for good decision-making.

This course provides the tools necessary for engineers to economically evaluate their uncertainties and decisions. It also allows engineers and geoscientists to communicate with the “business” world, which is generally more interested in monetary values and their risks, than engineering tolerances and specifications. It also provides understanding and knowledge of economic and business concepts, time-value of money, discounted cash flow, cash-flows, net present value and other economic decision criteria, the decision-making process, multi-objective decision making, decision-tree analysis, and value-of-information & flexibility. Some of the psychological and judgmental aspects of how people respond to uncertain and complex decision situations will be discussed.

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK:

• "Excellent coverage of appropriate content, excellent resource material (slide book & text), excellent instructor."
  - Geophysicist at Wintershall
  
  
• "Very clear, accessible and engaging. Pitched at a good level for geoscientists."
  - Geoscientist at Ophir Energy
  
  
• "The instructor is very knowledgeable, exercises are helpful and well designed."
  - Reservoir Engineer at Qatar Petroleum
  
  
• "Very good and easy to follow presenter and presentations, very interactive."
  - Engineer at RWE Dea