Analysis of the Risks Associated with the oil and gas industry and the Role of Corporate Social Responsibility Towards these Risks

Abstract

In this paper, an investigation of the risks involved in the oil and gas industry is presented, with special emphasis on how Oil Companies could use Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR), as a good approach towards controlling, curbing, mitigating, and/or managing these risks. After a brief presentation of the petroleum project life cycle and the oil price environment to set the context, the dangers related to the oil and gas industry will be depicted and grouped as an environmental risk, political risk, economic risk, social risk, exploration, and geological risk, construction risk, and operational risk. A general suggestion for risk analysis and risk management within the oil and gas industry will then follows before discussing how Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) of petroleum Companies and/or oil and gas projects could be used to influence price valuation, risk reduction, and profitability within the oil and gas industry.