Referencing Styles : Harvard Oil and Gas Assignment Why have Production Sharing Agreements replaced Concession Agreements for Exploration & Production Activity? Background The rise of nationalism in oil producing states during the 1960s was brought about from a desire by host governments to regain greater control over their indigenous mineral assets, as well as political motivations to wrest a higher economic rent from American and European oil companies. The typical Concession Agreements then in force, between host governments and International Oil Companies (IOCs), had generated a great deal of dissatisfaction over governmental returns and finances, and have today been largely superceded by Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) or Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs). The major differences between these two contractual systems that determine relationships between host governments and International Oil Companies are the levels of control granted to IOCs, levels of state involvement and intervention and participation, and the financial, or fiscal, system that divides and distributes the economic returns to both the government and IOC. Assignment Task Your assignment task is to research the reasons and justification behind host governments moving away from Concessions and replacing with PSAs/PSCs, and why IOCs have accepted such a dramatic change in their own share and profits from Exploration and Production activity in resource-rich countries. In a 2,000-word Essay you should outline the fundamental differences between the Concession systems and PSA/PSC systems, and the rationale behind producer countries favouring the greater economic rentals they receive through PSAs/PSCs. Discuss why host governments have succeeded in extracting more money from usually IOCs, and why, faced with such a change in finances, IOCs have continued to explore for, and exploit mineral, assets now their financial share of the profits has been seriously reduced. Your own interpretations and conclusions from your researches are fundamental. Supporting your own arguments in a robust and objective manner will qualify for better marks than a simple re-statement of the data and opinion found in the research. This should be a high-level review; the allowed word count is a deliberate constraint, so make sure you write a “rounded” essay, and do not discuss in too much detail.