An aggregate model of petroleum production capacity and supply forecasting

Abstract

This paper presents a complete discussion and documentation of the M.I.T. World Oil Project Aggregate Supply Model. First, the theoretical development and methodology are presented. The relationships between geologic and economic characteristics are analyzed and a system of equations representing the inertial process model are derived. Next, the construction of the data is described and the data, by country segment, is presented in detail. Methods of bridging the many gaps in the data are discussed. Finally, the simulation forecasts of the model are presented through 1990. *This research has been supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DAR 78-19044. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF. The work also is supported by the M.I.T. Center for Energy Policy Research. We wish to thank the following individuals for their comments on earlier drafts: P. Eckbo, H. Jacoby, R. Pindyck, J. Smith, and M. Zimmerman. Also, for research assistance and help in data analysis we thank J. Carson, W. Christian, D. McDonald, H. Owsley, G. Ward, and, in particular, A. Sterling. For editing and typing we are grateful to S. Mehta and A. Sanderson.