An Agglomeration Benefits of Oil and Gas Firms: An Exploratory Study Through Industrial Cluster

Abstract

The research investigates the agglomeration pattern of seven national, international oil and gas extraction and production companies through an exploration of oil and gas cluster components and subcomponents. For this exploratory study, data is collected through primary sources via in-depth interviews from managers of national and international oil and gas MNCs working in Sindh, Pakistan and through secondary sources of business reports. The content analysis is adopted to analyze the data. Results of this study reveal that there is strong existence of exploration and production companies which results in agglomeration, however, other components of oil and gas cluster like refineries, marketing companies, supporting institutes, media and government poorly exist in Sindh province of Pakistan. Findings also highlight that the Sindh as a resource-rich region is still underdeveloped due to poor management of resources or because of the absence of ideal oil and gas cluster components and coordination among them in the region.