ABSTRACT

It seems a particularly appropriate moment to comment on the oil industry's recent past and reflect on its future. Ten years ago, almost to the day, the Arab members of OPEC lifted the oil embargo that they had imposed on October 17, 1973. Over the last ten years the majors have lost their equity producing interests in most OPEC countries. Whereas in 1973, about 80" of crude oil production was from privately owned companies such as Exxon, by 1982 their share had dropped to a little over 10 percent. Finding and developing those reserves will be progressively more difficult and costly. Over the years, only one out of ten exploratory wells drilled worldwide has proved to be successful. Incidentally, the upstream commands an increasing portion of our capital and exploration expenditures. In 1973, spending on exploration and production represented 46 percent of Exxon's total expenditures.