Publication Date

1976

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Basti, Abdul Z.

Degree Name

M.S. (Master of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Finance

LCSH

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; Investments; Petroleum industry and trade

Abstract

The objective of this study was to provide an analysis of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) revenues, focusing mainly on the Organization of Arab Oil Exporting Countries (OAPEC). Rising oil prices since 1973 have focused the world's attention on the Middle East, which is the world's oil supplier; as the organizations which represent the oil producing nations and which direct their pricing policies, OPEC and OAPEC have been under close scrutiny with the respect to the role they play in international economics. The problem of this study centered around the disposition of oil revenues by OP£C nations. .Major questions to be answered were: (1) where do OPEC countries spend their oil revenues; and (2) how can importing countries expect to recycle these revenues? Sub-problems which were evaluated were: (1) the factors affecting the volume of oil revenues; (2) the factors that influence the price of oil; (3) the factors that influence the supply of oil; and (4) the relationship between exports from the Middle East and Middle Eastern imports of goods and services from industrial nations. The study was partially descriptive and partially analytical, and relied both on primary and secondary sources for data. Extensive use was made of materials on the oil industry issued by the governments of the oil producing countries because these materials focused on the question of investing petro-dollar revenues, the subject of the study. Major findings of the study were summarized as follows: 1. Oil reserves in the Middle Eastern countries are the largest in the world. Fluctuations in price have caused demand for Middle East oil to decline somewhat, but the demand is more or less stable through the end of this decade. 2. While OPEC oil exports are increasing, their imports of goods and services from industrial countries are increasing at a faster rate. OPEC countries rely heavily on the industrial nations for food, medicine, clothing, and most consumer and industrial goods and services. 3. Oil surpluses are the funds that are left over after paying for the import of goods and services. These funds are being spent in a number of ways: liquid investments such as bank deposits and short-term government securities, grants and loans to developed and less developed countries, and aid and loans to international financial institutions.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.||Includes illustrations.

Extent

vii, 84 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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