Renewable energies and operational and environmental efficiencies of the US oil and gas companies: A True Fixed Effect model

International audienceEnergy economics and environment protection are important issues in a modern society that aspires to aim at sustainable development. The evaluation of environmental and operational efficiency would be an important first step towards sustainable development. Renewable energies, especially hydroelectricity, geothermal, solar and wind, are playing an increasingly important role in the energy sector. Therefore, oil & gas companies are progressively transforming into energy companies following an energy transition policy. This raises the question whether the renewable energies promote the environmental and operational efficiency of petroleum companies. First, this paper examines two types of efficiency measures – operational and environmental – for 45 US oil & gas companies during the period 2000–2018 using on the true fixed effect (TFE) model. Second, this research aims to study the effect of renewable energies on both types of efficiency. The results reveal that the overall average operational efficiency (desirable output) of the US oil & gas companies is 76% for a period of 19 years, while the overall average level of CO2 emissions efficiency (undesirable output) of the oil & gas companies is 79%. The results highlight that US oil & gas companies have begun to transition to low CO2 emission in recent years. Furthermore, the renewable energies and biomass energies contribute to destroying the operational efficiency and to promote the environmental efficiency of oil & gas companies

Global Energy Transition and the Efficiency of the Largest Oil and Gas Companies

The challenges posed by climate change and global warming loom large, necessitating a critical initial step towards the long-term growth and the enhancement of both environmental and operational efficiency. Within the energy sector, renewable energy sources are gaining increasing prominence. Consequently, traditional oil and gas companies (OGC) are undergoing a gradual transformation into comprehensive energy corporations, aligning themselves with energy transition policies. This paper examines two types of efficiency measures—operational and environmental—for the 20 largest OGC during the period of 2010–2019. Secondly, this research aims to explore the effect of the global energy transition on both environmental and operational efficiency. Based on three estimation methods, two estimation steps are used in this research. In the first step, the True Fixed Effect (TFE) model and the Battese and coelli (1995) SFA model are applied to evaluate, measure and compare the environmental and operational efficiency scores. In the second step, the TFE model and GMM approach for the dynamic panel data model are used to explore, evaluate and verify the effect of global energy transition on the environmental and operational efficiency of the largest 20 OGC in the world. The results reveal that the average operational efficiency of major OGC measured using the BC.95 model and TFE model is 66% and 85%, respectively, and the overall average level of environmental efficiency for OGC over a 10-year period is 31% (based to B.C.95 model) and 13% (based to TFE model). Our findings reveal that biofuels, solar and hydropower contribute to promote the operational and environmental efficiency of the largest 20 OGC. However, the analysis suggests that while the global energy transition significantly influences and bolsters environmental efficiency, its effect on operational efficiency among these major OGC remains less pronounced and insufficient

Efficiency of U.S. Oil and Gas Companies toward Energy Policies

The petroleum industry faces crucial environmental problems that exacerbate business instability, such as climate change and greenhouse gas emission regulations. Generally, governments focus on pricing, environmental protection, and supply security when developing energy policy. This article evaluates the technical efficiency of 53 oil and gas companies in the United States during the period 1998–2018 using the stochastic frontier analysis methods and investigates the degree to which energy policies influence the efficiency levels in these companies. Our empirical results show that the average technical efficiency of the 53 U.S. oil and gas companies is 0.75 and confirm that prices, production, consumption, and reserves of the U.S. petroleum and gas have a significant influence on technical efficiency levels. Specifically, our findings show that renewable energy and nuclear power contribute to explaining the distortion between the optimal and observed output of the U.S. oil and gas companies

Efficiency evaluation in public road transport: a stochastic frontier analysis

This paper measures the technical efficiency of 54 public road transport operators and investigates the degree to which various factors influence efficiency levels in these firms. The study makes an attempt to provide an overview of the general status of different operators in 18 countries. Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) methods are applied to our sample over a twelve year period from 2000 to 2011. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive analysis of technical efficiency of public road transport operators in 18 countries using parametric method. Our empirical results indicate that investment, operating profit and firm size have a significant influence on technical efficiency levels. We find that technical efficiency level of public road transport operators varies between 0.458 and 0.95. We also observe that large-size operators with more investment capacity tend to be more technically efficient than small-size operators. Finally, we find that operators from developed countries are technically more efficient than those of developing countries. First published online: 23 May 201

Overview of the Genus <em>Squalus</em> in the Mediterranean Sea

In the Mediterranean Sea, in addition to the two historically known species belonging to the Squalus genus (Squalus blainville and Squalus acanthias), a third species, Squalus megalops, has been reported. This last specie is a subject of debate between authors. S. acanthias is quite distinct from the other species of the genus Squalus, while S. blainville and S. megalops are very similar morphologically. This similarity has resulted in considerable confusion over their taxonomy. The lack of a well-preserved holotype for S. blainville, misidentifications in databases and in the literature, description, and figure of Risso (1827) not conforming to any known species of Squalus are impediments to the proper taxonomic identification and the potential revision of the genus. This chapter aims to clarify the state of the species of the genus Squalus in the Mediterranean Sea, taking into account all the studies carried out on this subject

Public transport demand: dynamic panel model analysis

This paper presents an original essay that explains the mobility behaviour towards the public transport supply in Tunisia. This research aims to determine the key variables affecting an individual’s decision to travel by public transport and explains how the use of these means fits the mobility strategies. The dynamic panel model is applied to twelve Tunisian Regional companies, where we aim to analyze the behaviours of Tunisian citizens in the regions where Regional Transport Companies ensure the total service supply of urban, interurban and suburban public transport of travellers. The results show that mobility behaviours are subject to various variables. In particular, service quality, mean price and active population are the most significant variables regarding public transport demand in Tunisia