Industry report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Industry report - Essay Example The term petroleum industry refers to all industrial activities associated with exploration, mining, refining, transporting, and selling of petroleum products. This paper will present an overview of the petroleum industry giving specific focus to the evolution of the current trends in the industry, key players and their strategic objectives, the scope for new entrant. This will also analyze the demand and supply ratio of the fuel and major challenges the industry is facing today. This report will help one understand how complex the operating environment of the petroleum industry is amidst the growing economic uncertainty, regulatory pressures, and commodity price instability. 2. Industry overview As mentioned in the introduction, numerous activities from exploration to marketing constitute the modern petroleum industry. Although fuel oil and gasoline are the major products of the industry, it involves other chemical materials like pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, a nd plastics. Petroleum is a natural but complex liquid mixture of hydrocarbons and several organic compounds found underground in geologic formations (Petroleum and Petroleum Products). Although the fossil fuel in the natural form was used by humans before around 5000 years, it evolved to be an important industry in the world economy by 19th century. The history of commercial oil wells and refineries could be traced back to 1800s when imperial Russia emerged as the largest producer of oil. By the beginning of the 20th century, Apsheron Peninsula became the hub of oil from which Russia drilled out half of the world’s total oil production and became the leader in international oil markets. Industrial revolution played the key role in enhancing the petroleum industry. The invention of fuel run machines and transportation intensified the demand for fuel, and thereby the developing world’s exploration for oil. The result was that several economies across the world discovere d their own oil fields. By 1850s both Canada and the United States developed their own oil wells and refineries, and the continued exploration in the industry enabled the US to outsmart Russia by becoming the largest producer of oil by the first quarter of 20th century. The industry has been amazingly vulnerable to change and instability that by the World War II US lost its leading position in the market to the new entrants of the industry, Middle East. Subsequently, the industry underwent tremendous changes. Huge oil tankers, pipelines, deepwater drills, drillships etc became the major characteristics of the petroleum industry, and multi-governmental organizations like OPEC and OAPEC emerged to be the most powerful bodies that cold control the oil prices and policies. Concerns over environmental issues related to oil and gas operations are also increasing across the globe as new projects have adverse impacts on the earth, water, and air due to the possibility of oil spills and the effect of pollutants such as CO2. 3. Key players Petroleum industry has turned to be a great phenomenon that the number of players and their positions in the market is highly subject to change. Although in general sense, international oil companies are perceived as the main players who determine the oil prices and

Health Care Reform & the Future of Nursing Essay

Health Care Reform & the Future of Nursing - Essay Example er expectations have led to improved service delivery as they are entitled to quality health care, which is catered fro through the universal health insurance schemes. The Affordable Care Act holds that all human being are entitled to medical attention as it is a basic human right, regardless of the patient’s financial position. The ethical principle of providing quality and equal health care to everyone is upheld through the act. The affordability of health care makes it possible for everyone to access health care regardless of the person’s financial position. The protection of human rights and offering of quality health care to every citizen are upheld in the ACA (Poskauer, 2014). The Accountable care organizations provide for grouping of patients so as to manage their medical care with the purpose of offering high quality care while cutting costs. This is done through collaborative efforts between hospitals, medical groups, as well as other providers of health care. The amount of money saved through this initiative is kept by the health care providers. The retail clinics model is also a popular innovation. This gives immediate health care to those seeking medical care without the need to have appointments. The dual- eligible model is also gaining ground. This allows patients to receive care using Medicare and Medicaid. This is especially helpful for patients with high medical expenses. The bundled payments are also gaining prominence as it focuses on the quality of care provided and not quantity. The concept bundles all medical costs by the patient into one payment. This ensures that the patient receives standard care for any ailments (Daly, 2013). The nursing leaders need to learn how to handle patients with different needs accordingly. This is because the care provides for all levels and types of care that are sought by the patients. The nurses must learn to seek medical history appropriately so as to ensure that the medical care offered is consistent.