The rise of NOCs - threat or opportunity?.

Three ‘Geocontroversies Debates’ were held at the 7th Petroleum Geology Conference (PGC7), which took place at the QEII Centre, Westminster, earlier this year. The outcomes of the first two discussed motions on peak oil and the future of the North Sea have already been reported in the September and October issues of Petroleum Review. The third and final debate revolved around the strategic question of whether national oil companies (NOCs) are the future of the petroleum industry. John Underhill, Grant Institute of Earth Science, The School of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, reports.