Forging alliances to meet future energy demand

The oil and gas industry is contending with a dynamic global marketplace and an increasingly insistent group of stakeholders. Demand growth is slowing and regulatory pressures continue to impact operations, while available reserves are more difficult and expensive to produce. As the pressure to meet future energy demand mounts, global alliances are becoming more and more critical.

Oil and gas companies need to know how to respond to emerging trends, anticipate risk effectively, improve performance and operate more efficiently.

Ernst & Young’s Global Oil & Gas Center has a clear understanding of how to do this within your industry. It serves as the hub for our network of highly-skilled resources — professionals with deep experience delivering assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services within oil and gas companies.

The Center brings people and ideas together to help companies like yours meet the issues of today — and tomorrow. However complex your challenges, we share information with you on emerging trends and regulations to help you move forward in your business.

You benefit from support in managing your business more effectively — and understanding what’s shaping your industry.

Canadian oil sands

In a world in search of new oil sources, the oil sands of Alberta, Canada, may represent at least 50% of new investable reserves accessible in the world today. Tremendous opportunities and challenges lie in highly complex and capital-intense projects with substantial environmental and social/political implications. Learn about the human capital challenges associated with the oil sands boom, focusing on recruitment from our report.

Strategic business risk — oil and gas 2008

What strategic challenges are likely to affect oil and gas companies in 2008 (pdf, 493kb)? We analyze 10 of the most critical risks, including human capital deficit, supply and demand shocks, cost controls and worsening fiscal terms. We also look at risks currently ‘below the radar’ that may be topping risk tables in the years to come.

New partnership models, new agendas

As the balance of supply and demand shifts, the benefits of partnership between NOCs, IOCs, and service companies become more compelling. A report from Ernst & Young in the UK covers the history of cooperation among these players and what’s influencing partnerships today. See also key success factors to consider throughout the partnership lifecycle.

National oil company monitor Q1 2008

New models of partnership are developing between IOCs and NOCs, (pdf, 1.8mb) with NOCs adopting different strategies to increase their geographical footprint. Learn about how NOCs of energy import dependent countries are adopting more aggressive foreign expansion plans. Improved accountability and transparency, regulatory compliance and corporate governance will be key success factors for internationalizing NOCs to gain access to new markets, says Rob Jessen.

Junior market consolidation: AIM Q3 2007 review

Despite a tighter debt market, transactions in the mid market have continued apace (pdf, 433kb) and consolidation activity at the junior end of the market is expected to pick up. Read this report from Ernst & Young UK for an inside look at relative performance of AIM oil and gas companies and to learn more about the current industry challenges.

US GAAP v. IFRS: the basics for oil and gas companies

Given the global breath of the industry and the recent SEC actions, many industry executives are expanding their knowledge of the industry-specific differences between US GAAP and IFRS. This publication supplements our US GAAP v. IFRS: The Basics (pdf, 259kb), reviews where these two standards are similar and also where they differ for some of the more critical oil and gas industry accounting policies and practices.

Scenario planning

The future of a business is particularly uncertain in an industry driven by the development and delivery of natural resources. Scenario planning that considers multiple outcomes can shape sound business decisions. To help you jumpstart your own planning exercises, we bring you through nine “what if” scenarios and possible outcomes.

Six factors in post-acquisition integration

Consolidation is a constant in the energy industry, but too many deals fail to deliver on promises made to investors, analysts, employees, and customers. "After the acquisition", from Ernst & Young US, examines why integration is essential to realizing transaction value and why companies managing post-merger integration should focus on six major areas to enhance their chances of success.