Publications

October 2014 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Europe, Russia, and the Age of Gas Revolution

By: Rawi Abdelal, Leonardo Maugeri and Sogomon Tarontsi

The 2014 Ukraine crisis once again exposed the mutually limiting knot—a web of commercial relationships and oil and gas pipelines—that historically tied the European Union and Russia closely. In this crisis, a familiar conundrum preoccupied minds in the corridors of... View Details

Keywords: International Relations; Business and Government Relations; Energy Sources; Energy Industry; European Union; Russia; Ukraine

January 2015
Case

Chevron Under Fire

By: George Serafeim, Rebecca Henderson and Christine Snively

Oil giant, Chevron, faced numerous challenges on environmental, social and governance (ESG) grounds in the first decade of the 21st century, including some major lawsuits and actions by NGOs. The case describes those challenges and raises questions about what is the... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Tax; Oil And Gas; Environment; Drilling; Governance; Business or Company Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Sources; Mining Industry; Energy Industry

April 2017 (Revised August 2018)
Case

The U.S. Shale Revolution: Global Rebalancing?

By: Laura Alfaro and Richard H.K. Vietor

The American shale revolution has upended oil and gas markets for nearly a decade. Prices have risen then plunged, production has surged and then waned, LNG has boomed, and technology and productivity have improved. The U.S. energy policy, under the Obama... View Details

Keywords: Shale Oil; Shale Gas; LNG; Energy Policy; Drilling Technology; Energy; Trade; Economics; Macroeconomics; Policy; Energy Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Middle East

18 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Will Global Demand for Oil Peak This Decade?

Is the globe’s thirst for oil finally topping out? A major international energy watcher says yes, predicting last month that demand for global oil for transport will peak around 2026, plateau for all uses by 2028, and possibly hit a zenith by the end of the decade.... View Details

Keywords: by Alvin Powell, Harvard Gazette; Energy; Industrial Products; Auto; Green Technology

March 2002 (Revised January 2010)
Case

BP and the Consolidation of the Oil Industry, 1998-2002

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and David J Hanson

Examines the economics of the oil and gas industry with a focus on 1998 through 2001. Discusses the rationale behind using a growth in scale as a means to increase profitability and to gain competitive advantage. Also examines the classic strategic implications of... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Competitive Advantage; Consolidation; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Energy Industry

February 2017 (Revised June 2017)
Supplement

ExxonMobil: Business as Usual? (B)

By: George Serafeim, Shiva Rajgopal and David Freiberg

The case presents ExxonMobil's response to growing pressure to disclose how climate change will impact their business. This includes multiple asset impairments and losing a proxy vote to shareholders to increase climate change related reporting. Supplements the (B)... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Oil Prices; Oil Companies; Asset Impairment; Predictive Analytics; Sustainability; Environmental Impact; Innovation; Disclosure; Accounting; Valuation; Energy Sources; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Governance Compliance; Climate Change; Financial Reporting; Energy Industry; United States

2012
Other Unpublished Work

Environmental corporate strategy and advancements in enhanced oil recovery technology among U.S. firms

By: Shon R. Hiatt

This study seeks to address how collective actors can affect technology development and adoption among organizations by creating regulatory uncertainty. Empirically, this paper focuses on the influence of environmental organizations concerned about climate change on... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Technology Adoption; Natural Environment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Corporate Strategy; United States

June 2019
Case

The Shale Revolution: America's Energy Independence?

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Howaida Kamel

The shale revolution has upended oil and gas markets for nearly a decade and has positioned the U.S. to become a net energy exporter by 2020. Technological improvements pushed productivity forward which has had positive overall positive affects for the U.S. economy.... View Details

Keywords: Shale Oil; Shale Gas; LNG; Energy Policy; Drilling Technology; Energy; Trade; Economics; Macroeconomics; Policy; Energy Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Middle East

July 2017 (Revised March 2019)
Technical Note

The Future of Mobility: Economic, Environmental, and Social Implications

By: George Serafeim and David Freiberg

This technical note explores how advancements in technology are fundamentally transforming how consumers interact with mobility. Transformation is being driven by three independent trends: the emergence of affordable electric vehicles, the development of autonomous... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Automobile Manufacturing; Technological And Scientific Innovation; Mobility; Inequality; Electric Vehicles; Ride-sharing; Ambidexterity; Transformation; Disruption; Change; Technological Innovation; Transportation; Equality and Inequality; Auto Industry; Technology Industry; Transportation Industry; Distribution Industry

May 2013 (Revised September 2013)
Case

The Kashagan Production Sharing Agreement (PSA)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Florian Bitsch

When discovered in the 1990s, the Kashagan oil field was the second largest oil field in the world. The project sponsors (equity investors) signed a 40-year production sharing agreement (PSA) with the Kazakh government in 1997, with the expectation the field would... View Details

May 2024
Case

Shell's Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In mid-2023, amid pressure from climate change activists, shareholder activists, and confronting enormous uncertainty about the future demand for and price of fossil fuels, new Shell CEO Wael Sawan (Harvard MBA 2003) announced a change in strategy for the U.K. oil... View Details

Keywords: Portfolio Analysis; Climate; Oil; Oil And Gas; Oil Companies; Renewables; Petroleum; Investor Demand; Investors; Corporate Strategy; Resource Allocation; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Energy Industry; United Kingdom

09 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

War in Ukraine: Soaring Gas Prices and the Return of Stagflation?

profits foregone in Russia are likely to have much of an effect at all. Forman: Can you talk about the oil and gas impact of the conflict for firms and consumers? Abdelal: For Europeans, there will be huge... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Energy

March 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

C12 Energy

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and James McQuade

C12 aimed to build not only a company, but an entire industry around carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). "You change the world by building a market, and you build a market by building a profitable company that other people copy," said Dawe, C12 Energy's CEO. "In... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Sequestration; Sustainability; Cleantech; Oil And Gas; Business Model; Energy; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology Industry; Energy Industry; North America

May 2018
Teaching Note

Mubadala and EBX: To X or to X It?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Sayiddah Fatima McCree

On April 3, 2013, Hani Barhoush and Oscar Fahlgren of Mubadala Capital (“Mubadala”) considered how to salvage Mubadala’s $2 billion preferred equity investment of a 5.63% stake in the EBX Group. At the time, EBX was the holding company of a myriad of subsidiaries and... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Cross Border; Negotiations; UAE; Oil And Gas; Finance; Strategy; Negotiation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Private Equity; Restructuring; Energy Industry; Real Estate Industry; Shipping Industry; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Brazil; Middle East

March 2022 (Revised April 2022)
Teaching Note

Group Functions at the Maersk Group

By: David J. Collis

In 2014, seven years after he was appointed CEO of the Danish shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Møller Maersk (the Maersk Group), Nils Andersen was reexamining the size and role of corporate headquarters in the company he had reshaped as a "premium conglomerate."... View Details

Keywords: Maersk; Business Units; Conglomerates; Decentralization; Core Business; Value Added; Synergy; Headquarters; Shipping; Petroleum; Oil And Gas; Drilling; Corporate Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Transportation Industry; Shipping Industry; Denmark

June 2012
Supplement

Foro Energy (B)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter, William A. Sahlman and James McQuade

Foro Energy developed proprietary and patent-pending fiber-laser technologies that could disrupt existing processes and services for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. These breakthrough laser technologies were protected by a strong intellectual... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Technologies; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Development Stage Enterprises; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurs; Petroleum; Natural Gas; High Technology; Energy; Entrepreneurship; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Intellectual Property; Energy Industry

December 2014 (Revised February 2016)
Case

Group Functions at the Maersk Group

By: David Collis and Matthew Shaffer

In 2014, seven years after he was appointed CEO of the Danish shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Møller Maersk (the Maersk Group), Nils Andersen was reexamining the size and role of corporate headquarters in the company he had reshaped as a "premium conglomerate."... View Details

Keywords: Maersk; Business Units; Conglomerates; Decentralization; Core Business; Value Added; Synergy; Headquarters; Shipping; Petroleum; Oil And Gas; Drilling; Corporate Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Transportation Industry; Shipping Industry; Denmark