Success below the surface : explaining success in the management of petrolium resources in Norway and Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This thesis is about the petroleum sectors in Norway and Brazil and studies the relationship between the state and the national oil companies. Both Norway and Brazil have been successful in the management of petroleum resources. In this thesis I analyze how organizational cultural factors can contribute to a better understanding and explanation of success in the petroleum management in Norway and Brazil. In this thesis success in the petroleum sector is defined as a country’s ability to manage the petroleum resources in a way that 1) yields economic growth through resource rents, 2) ensures society’s benefit and control and 3) meets national goals for the sector.

This study is qualitative and comparative, using a theory of organizational culture in case studies of Norway and Brazil in order to understand better why both these countries have obtained success in their petroleum management despite the differences between the countries on other explanatory variables. Through analyzing the organizational cultural traits of involvement, adaptability, mission and consistency in the principal-agent relationships between the states and the national oil companies (NOCs) Statoil and Petrobras, this thesis investigates the causal relationship between organizational culture and success.

The states and the NOCs are interdependent in the development of the petroleum sector. Shared values and goals are therefore important for successful development over time. Through studying the cultural traits of the organization building in the petroleum sectors in Norway and Brazil, this thesis has found that both the organizational cultures in the principal-agent relationships between the states and the NOCs and the organizational culture within the NOCs score high on all the four abovementioned cultural traits. Strong organizational culture in the petroleum sector is thus positively related to petroleum success in both Norway and Brazil.