The Choice of Strategic Core - Impact of Financial Volum

Recent trends among major oil companies and independents have been consolidation through mergers and acquisitions and focus on key strategic core areas. The expressed goals have been to achieve synergy, reduce costs, and concentrate on areas with maximum expected value creation. This paper provides a model that endogenously determines the optimal numbers of projects to implement in an optimal number of areas. The decision of whether to invest in a project cannot be seen in isolation but must be linked with portfolio optimization and the strategic core of the firm.