EMPIRICAL COMPARISON OF ASIA & PACIFIC OIL INDUSTRY WITH THE ORGANIZATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

For the past six decades, Asia & Pacific oil industry has witnessed high intensity of oil production activities in the region. Countries of the region with high industrial activities, embarked on aggressive refining and processing of crude petroleum into refined products to feed their industries manufacturing outfits. These fossil energy and other alternative energy sources are used in powering their industries and manufacturing outfits. These high refining and processing activities with the associated value-chain, made the region a very favorable destination for raw materials, Foreign Direct Investment and labor. On a comparative note, the study has concluded that the Asia & Pacific oil industry has outperformed OPEC in the areas of refining, output of petroleum products, imports of crude oil and oil demand. In spite of all these achievements by some countries of the region in these vital oil sub-sectors, some others have underperformed in this regard. It is the underperformance of some of these countries of the region in this regard that informs the motivation for the study. The study is a qualitative one where document studies were utilized in generating data from secondary sources such as academic journals, bulletins, textbooks, and internet materials.