Key commercial aspects -

1 Describe, in general terms, the key commercial aspects of the oil sector in your country.

The US oil industry is divided into three sectors:

• upstream (exploration and production);

• midstream (processing, storage and transportation); and

• downstream (refining, distribution and marketing).

Industry participants are categorised as ‘supermajors’, ‘majors’ and ‘independents’. Supermajors are the handful of very large companies that account for most of the US oil industry revenues. US-based supermajors include ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, whereas the overseas-based supermajors, BP and Shell, have substantial US operations. Smaller-scale integrated firms include Marathon, Hess and Murphy Oil.

A larger number of companies specialise in particular sectors. The independents engage predominantly in upstream activities and include Occidental, Devon and Apache. Midstream specialists include Kinder Morgan. Refining operations are conducted by Phillips 66, Valero, Sunoco, and PBF Energy. The industry is supported by oil service companies led by Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes, and by a variety of trade associations including the American Petroleum Institute.