ABSTRACT
Oil and gas resources played a key role in the second industrial revolution and will continue to do so even in the future, despite the increasing energy transition process taking place in the world. The endowment of these resources is not uniform globally, and, more importantly, they are non-renewable resources, suggesting that their careful management over time and space is very important. In this chapter, the key economic aspects of oil and gas resources are presented and analysed from the perspective of emerging and developing countries. Findings from the analysis suggest that the global oil and gas industry is an oligopoly by structure, with OPEC playing a key role. Emerging and Developing countries (EDCs) are major players in both the supply and demand for these resources in general and OPEC’s role in oil supply. Eight EDCs account for 80% of the 83.9% share of global proven oil and gas reserves. Moreover, growth in oil demand from 2000 to 2018 is largely driven by demand from EDCs, led by China and India. Keywords: Economics; Oil and Gas Resources; Emerging and Developing Economies
