Download or read book Vertical Integration in the Natural Gas Value Chain written by Svetlana Sailer and published by . This book was released on 2013-09 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject Economy - Theory of Competition, Competition Policy, grade: 1,7, Technical University of Berlin (Institut fur Volkswirtschaftslehre und Wirtschaftsrecht (IVWR)), course: Infrastruktur- und Wettbewerbspolitik, language: English, abstract: This case study analyses the structure and the corporate strategies of the German and European natural gas sector. It shows the determining factors for companies concerning vertical integration and will explain the main theories why companies do vertical integration or hybrid forms like long-term contracts. Our main hypothesis is that especially uncertainty, asset specificity and high transaction costs can increase vertical integration. Along the value chain of the natural gas industry we will test if these determinants still exist and if there are other determinants for vertical integration. In particular we will have a look on the interface between transport and distribution and as well on the interface between extraction and production. We will test the production cost-, neoclassical- and transaction cost approach on these interfaces. In times of globalization, raising energy demand and energy prizes, the supply with natural gas becomes more and more important. Especially the dependency of Western Europe in general and Germany in particular from foreign exports forces the governments to secure energy supply in cooperation with all market participants. For the period of the last 25 years the structure of natural gas markets worldwide changed significantly in technical, institutional and economic settings. The aim of several liberalization processes in the natural gas market by the German government and the European Union was a creation of competitive markets and breaking up monopolistic (vertically integrated) structures in the natural gas industry. (Neumann, Hirschhausen 2006, p.5) Even though there is still vertical integration taking place and some regional markets are nearly mon