Extracting Several Resource Deposits of Unknown Size: Optimal Order

Murray Kemp and Ngo Long

CIRANO Working Papers from CIRANO

Abstract: Oil companies often announce revised estimates of their reserves. This indicates that stock uncertainty is a prevalent feature of natural resource industries. In this paper we consider the multi-deposit case where resource extraction produces information about the size of reserves. We show that the optimal order of extracting resource deposits depends both on the informational characteristics of the extraction process and on the extraction costs. Differences in extraction costs, a key consideration highlighted in Solow and Wan (1976), must be balanced against the relative value of information generated by the extraction of various deposits. Our model supplies an explanation of why high cost deposits are sometimes extracted when lower cost deposits have not been exhausted. Les compagnies pétrolières révisent souvent les chiffres de leurs réserves, ce qui indique que l'incertitude concernant les stocks est prévalente. Nous considérons le cas où l'extraction donne des informations sur la taille des réserves. Nous prouvons que l'ordre optimal d'exploitation des stocks dépend des propriétés du processus d'extraction concernant la révélation d'information et des coûts. La différence des coûts, qui est une considération importante dans Solow and Wan (1976), doit être balancée contre la valeur informative des réserves. Notre modèle fournit une explication du fait que les réserves plus coûteuses sont parfois exploitées avant l'épuisement des réserves moins coûteuses.

Keywords: order of extraction; value of information; uncertainty; ordre d'extraction; valeur de l'information; incertitude (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-04-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-env
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cir:cirwor:2007s-10

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