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The Minerals and Petroleum Resources Royalty Act (MPRRA) became effective on 1 March 2010. This legislation may have a significant impact on employment, foreign investment and future exploration in the South African mining industry. This article reports on a critical analysis of the MPRRA prior to its implementation in order to identify aspects that may impact adversely on the South African mining industry and would require further research after the implementation of the MPRRA. Based on the findings, the authors recommend that the impact of the level of royalties levied as well as the mechanism to promote downstream beneficiation be researched to establish whether the legislators ought to reconsider these provisions in the light of their impact on the mining industry. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

In 2001, Kenneth Deffeyes made a grim prediction: world oil production would reach a peak within the next decade--and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Deffeyes's claim echoed the work of geophysicist M. King Hubbert, who in 1956 predicted that U.S. oil production would reach its highest level in the early 1970s. Though roundly criticized by oil experts and economists, Hubbert's prediction came true in 1970. In this updated edition ofHubbert's Peak, Deffeyes explains the crisis that few now deny we are headed toward. Using geology and economics, he shows how everything from the rising price of groceries to the subprime mortgage crisis has been exacerbated by the shrinking supply--and growing price--of oil. Although there is no easy solution to these problems, Deffeyes argues that the first step is understanding the trouble that we are in.

Assessing and forecasting hydrocarbon resource potential (HRP) is of great significance. However, due to the complexity and uncertainty of geological conditions during hydrocarbon accumulation, it is challenging to accurately establish HRP models. This study employs machine learning methods to construct a HRP assessment model. First, nine primary controlling factors were selected from the five key conditions for HRP: source rock, reservoir, trap, migration, and accumulation. Subsequently, three prediction models were developed based on the backpropagation (BP) neural network, BP-Bagging algorithm, and BP-AdaBoost algorithm, with hydrocarbon resources abundance as the output metric. These models were applied to the Dongpu Depression in the Bohai Bay Basin for performance evaluation and optimization. Finally, this study examined the importance of various variables in predicting HRP and analyzed model uncertainty. The results indicate that the BP-AdaBoost model outperforms the others. On the test dataset, the BP-AdaBoost model achieved an R2 value of 0.77, compared to 0.73 for the BP-Bagging model and only 0.64 for the standard BP model. Variable importance analysis revealed that trap area, sandstone thickness, sedimentary facies type, and distance to faults significantly contribute to HRP. Furthermore, model accuracy is influenced by multiple factors, including the selection and quantification of geological parameters, dataset size and distribution characteristics, and the choice of machine learning algorithm models. In summary, machine learning provides a reliable method for assessing HRP, offering new insights for identifying high-quality exploration blocks and optimizing development strategies.

This book synthesizes findings regarding the political drivers of institutional change in extractive industry governance. It analyses resource governance from the late nineteenth century to the present in Bolivia, Ghana, Peru, and Zambia, focusing on the ways in which resource governance and national political settlements interact.

Deep oil reservoirs are becoming increasingly significant fields of hydrocarbon exploration in recent decades. Hydrothermal fluid flow is deemed as a potentially crucial factor affecting the occurrence of deep oil reservoirs, such as enhancing porosity/permeability of reservoirs, accelerating oil generation and thermal cracking, and modifying organic properties of crude oils. Understanding the interplay between hydrothermal fluids and crude oils would provide useful constraints for reconstructing hydrocarbon accumulation processes and predicting the distribution patterns of crude oils. Voluminous crude oils have been discovered in the deeply buried Ordovician carbonate reservoirs within the Shunbei area of the northern Tarim Basin. Previous studies revealed that the Early Permian Tarim Large Igneous Province (LIP) has affected the Shunbei area, whereas it is still debated whether the LIP-related hydrothermal infiltration affected hydrocarbons within the Ordovician reservoirs. To resolve this puzzle, this study was designed to unravel the potential thermal impact of hydrothermal infiltration on hydrocarbons according to molecular and stable carbon isotopic compositions of oils and associated natural gases, reflectance analysis of solid bitumen, and fluid inclusion thermometry. The studied crude oils are characterized by uniform organic indicators of paraffin, terpanes, steranes, and light hydrocarbons, implying that crude oils are derived from the same source rock. Genetic binary diagrams, such as dibenzothiophene/phenanthrene (DBT/P) vs. Pr/Ph (pristane/phytane), Pr/ n -C 17 alkane vs. Ph/ n -C 18 alkane, C 31 R/C 30 hopane vs. C 26 /C 25 tricyclic terpane (TT), and C 24 /C 23 TT vs. C 22 /C 21 TT, indicate that marine shales deposited in a reducing-weakly oxidized environment are major source rocks. Natural gases are associated with oil reservoirs and are mainly generated via the decomposition of kerogen and crude oil. Solid bitumen with abnormally high reflectance values (2.17–2.20%) occurred in the studied area, suggesting their formation temperatures were 252–254 °C. The abnormally high temperatures may be caused by hydrothermal infiltration related to the Tarim LIP. Hydrothermal infiltration is supported by the presence of high contents of CO 2 (30–48%) with enriched δ 13 C ratios (between − 2.5‰ and − 2.3‰), enriched n -alkane δ 13 C ratios, and incongruent temperatures estimated by multiple indicators, such as light hydrocarbon compositions, homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions, and bitumen reflectance. Outcomes of this study support the interpretation that hydrothermal infiltration indeed occurred and may have facilitated hydrocarbon generation in the Shunbei area, and possibly elsewhere in the cratonic regions of the northern Tarim Basin.

There are few areas of economic policy-making in which the returns to good decisions are so high—and the punishment of bad decisions so cruel—as in the management of natural resource wealth. Rich endowments of oil, gas and minerals have set some countries on courses of sustained and robust prosperity; but they have left others riddled with corruption and persistent poverty, with little of lasting value to show for squandered wealth. And amongst the most important of these decisions are those relating to the tax treatment of oil, gas and minerals. This book will be of interest to Economics postgraduates and researchers working on resource issues, as well as professionals working on taxation of oil, gas and minerals/mining. Preface Dominique Strauss-Kahn 1. Introduction Philip Daniel, Michael Keen Charles McPherson (IMF) Part 1: Conceptual Overview 2. Theoretical perspectives on resource tax design Robin Boadway (Queens University, Canada) and Michael Keen (IMF) 3. Principles of resource taxation for low-income countries Paul Collier (University of Oxford) Part 2: Sectoral Experiences and Issues 4. Petroleum fiscal regimes: Evolution and challenges Carole Nakhle (University of Surrey, UK) 5. International mineral taxation: Experience and issues Lindsay Hogan (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics) and Brenton Goldsworthy (IMF) 6.` Natural gas: Experience and issues Graham Kellas (Wood Mackenzie) Part 3: Special Topics 7. Evaluating fiscal regimes for resource projects: An example from oil development Philip Daniel, Brenton Goldsworthy, Wojciech Maliszewski, Diego Mesa Puyo (all IMF) and Alistair Watson 8. Resource rent taxes: A re-appraisal Bryan Land (World Bank) 9. State participation in the natural resources sectors: Evolution, issues and outlook Charles McPherson (IMF) 10. How best to auction natural resources Peter Cramton (University of Maryland) Part 4: Implementation 11. Resource tax administration: The implications of alternative policy choices 12 Resource tax administration: Functions, procedures and institutions Jack Calder 13. International tax issues for the resources sector Peter Mullins (Australian Tax Office) Part 5: Stability and Credibility 14. Contractual assurances of fiscal stability Philip Daniel (IMF) and Emil Sunley 15. Time consistency in petroleum taxation: Lessons from Norway Petter Osmundsen (University of Stavanger, Norway) Philip Daniel is Deputy Head, Tax Policy Division, in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund. Michael Keen is Assistant Director in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund, where he was previously head of the Tax Policy and Tax Coordination divisions. Charles McPherson is Technical Assistance Adviser in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund with particular responsibilities for fiscal and financial policies in resource rich countries.