What fuels oil company risk?
Les ColemanUniversity of Melbourne
The APPEA Journal 49(1) 183-198 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ08011
Published: 2009
Abstract
This article has a simple research question: what determines the risks of oil producing companies listed in Australia and the United States, and are there any differences between their risk attitudes? A literature review is used to develop an integrated theory of company risk that is validated using a hand-collected database covering active oil and gas production companies in Australia and the United States. Risk in both countries proved to be a function of company risk propensity and risk management, which each had a small number of deep-seated drivers spread across company structure, governance and performance. These common risk-related features between companies in geographically remote countries point to the complexity of achieving portfolio diversification.
Les Coleman is a senior lecturer in finance at the University of Melbourne, a member of the Investment Policy Committee of Australian Wealth Management Limited and a Director of Australian Ethical Investments Limited. Les trained originally as an engineer and completed a PhD in Management at the University of Melbourne in 2004. His thesis was published as Why Managers and Companies Take Risks and a second book, Risk Strategies, is in press. He has over 20 years senior management experience including as a mining engineer in Zambia, in Mobil Corporation’s headquarters planning group near Washington DC, and as regional treasurer for ExxonMobil Australia. His research has been published in leading academic journals, he is a joint recipient of an Australian Research Council linkage grant, a winner of teaching and research awards, and is a frequent contributor to print and broadcast media. les.coleman@unimelb.edu.au |
