The international oil market is composed of two types of companies: International Oil Companies (IOC) and National Oil Companies (NOC). The former are Western firms with their origin often linked to the colonial past such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell. NOCs, on the other hand, were founded in a wave of nationalism in the 1950s and 1960s in primarily the Middle East and South America. The current challenges facing NOCs and their host states, however, is creating the need for a different kind of organization. It is important to understand that NOCs are primarily agents and not determinants of the oil market. This means, for example, that the Russian state and Minister of Energy Novak determine Russia’s position instead of Rosneft or Gazprom. Despite some exceptions, most NOCs are comparable to any other energy company when it comes to organization and operations. The NOC is supposed to maximize […]