Petroleum Business Review

Abstract The economic evaluation of oil and gas projects aims to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive estimate of costs and benefits. This study examines the impact of macroeconomic variables, such as interest and inflation rates, on the economic assessment of drilling several gas wells in northeastern Iran. The theoretical framework includes Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Payback Period (PP). The importance of accurately predicting these variables for economic decision-making by managers and policymakers is clearly established, with their analysis playing a key role in project evaluation. In this study, the planning of activities and analysis of the construction and operational phases of the project were first conducted. The inflation rate was forecasted using the ARIMA model, and an appropriate discount rate was determined. The pricing of gas and condensates, fixed and variable costs, and project revenues were also reviewed. The economic evaluation was performed using COMFAR software, with a sensitivity analysis to examine the impact of changes in key assumptions. The results indicate positive financial metrics for the project under different production rates, discount rates, inflation rates, and various energy prices, confirming the project's economic viability.

Abstract Currently, distribution of various types of petroleum products is performed exclusively by the government. The high price of land in metropolitan cities, lack of incentive for the private sector to invest in construction of filling station due to the low-income, have caused filling stations to be insufficiently available. One of the solutions to overcome this obstacle is to use the ability of the private sector for distribution of petroleum products. To reduce the government's ownership, the market structure for petroleum products distribution in the country needs to be changed. This change should be firstly done gradually and step by step, and secondly, the government has to monitor this issue at various stages. In this study, three stages are proposed for the market restructuring of the petroleum products distribution in the country, and the conditions and requirements for each stage are separately identified.
For the private fuel distributing companies, the most important problem is the economic issue and having profit. On the other hand, since the product price is still subsidized in the country, therefore, it is indispensable that the amount of commission fee should be determined in such a way that the activity for private companies is economically justified.
In this study, the amount of products commision fee is calculated concerning capital and operatational expenditures, using the engineering economics method in different situations by COMFAR version 3 software.