Oil Industry Mergers: Structural Impacts And Antitrust Merger Guidelines

Abstract

Oil industry mergers and consolidations of recent years have included some of the largest firms in the US oil industry.  Cost and efficiency pressures have also led many firms, both merging and non-merging, to close, consolidate or sell many production, refining and marketing assets and to consolidate exploration and production programs worldwide.  This paper examines the effects of recent mergers on US oil industry structure using the 1982 Justice Department merger guidelines to exemplify the types of factors antitrust authorities may have considered in permitting mergers to play a large role in the oil industry restructuring of the 1980’s.