Unocal in Burma
Unocal in Burma
Union Oil Company of California (Unocal)
QUESTION NO. 1
Assess whether from utilitarian, rights justice and caring perspective. Unocal did the right thing indicating to invest in the pipeline and then in conducting the projects as it did. In your view, and using your utilitarian, rights justice and caring assessment, did Unocal do the right thing? Assume there was no way to change the outcome of this case and that the outcome was foreseen was Unocal then justified in deciding to invest the pipeline.
Answer
Background
Union Oil Company of California, Unocal, progressed into a full-service oil business after being founded more than 100 years ago to develop oil fields in California. Its services included extraction, refining, distribution, marketing and retail. Because of the depletion of oil fields in the United States, Unocal turned to foreign investments with a strategy to market its one-stop shopping business to governments. A major international project of interest was the "Yadana Field" off the shore of Burma, which contained approximately 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas enough to produce gas continuously for about 30 years. Burma's government created the company Mynamar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) to find private companies to help develop their oil.
A company first and foremost point to consider before investing is quite obvious and that is the high profit and low cost. So Unocal as other companies takes into consideration several things before investing in “yadana field”. As the labour was cheap in Burma, it was rich in natural gas recourses, it is an entry point into other potential lucrative international markets and the Burmese government maintain a stable climate. The projected was to transport the gas 256 miles from the yadana field (located in Burma) to Thailand through pipeline which had to be constructed by the Unocal. By conducting research Unocal investigate the risks position on social political environment of the
Union Oil Company of California (Unocal)
QUESTION NO. 1
Assess whether from utilitarian, rights justice and caring perspective. Unocal did the right thing indicating to invest in the pipeline and then in conducting the projects as it did. In your view, and using your utilitarian, rights justice and caring assessment, did Unocal do the right thing? Assume there was no way to change the outcome of this case and that the outcome was foreseen was Unocal then justified in deciding to invest the pipeline.
Answer
Background
Union Oil Company of California, Unocal, progressed into a full-service oil business after being founded more than 100 years ago to develop oil fields in California. Its services included extraction, refining, distribution, marketing and retail. Because of the depletion of oil fields in the United States, Unocal turned to foreign investments with a strategy to market its one-stop shopping business to governments. A major international project of interest was the "Yadana Field" off the shore of Burma, which contained approximately 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas enough to produce gas continuously for about 30 years. Burma's government created the company Mynamar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) to find private companies to help develop their oil.
A company first and foremost point to consider before investing is quite obvious and that is the high profit and low cost. So Unocal as other companies takes into consideration several things before investing in “yadana field”. As the labour was cheap in Burma, it was rich in natural gas recourses, it is an entry point into other potential lucrative international markets and the Burmese government maintain a stable climate. The projected was to transport the gas 256 miles from the yadana field (located in Burma) to Thailand through pipeline which had to be constructed by the Unocal. By conducting research Unocal investigate the risks position on social political environment of the