Creation of a water market in the Athabasca oil sands region: will vertical integration create incentives for entry deterrence

• Author / Creator

  Predy, Krista

• The implications of creating a water market in the Athabasca region of Northern Alberta are examined with the objective of creating a system which encourages efficient water usage by oil sands mining producers. An analysis is performed considering entry to the oil industry when there is no constraint on available water supply versus a situation where the available water supply is constrained. Vertically integrated incumbent oil firms can strategically increase their capacity investment in the downstream oil market to exercise market power in the upstream water market, resulting in entry deterrence when there is a constraint on the water supply. In the absence of a constraint on the water supply, we show that the market will be no more efficient than the current water allocation system.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Vertical Integration
  • Entry deterrence
  • Water markets

• Graduation date

  Spring 2015

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Business Administration

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3PT0B

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.