Energy Supply Chain Management

SCM 4302 -01 (17744), SCM 4302-03 (18983) ENRG 4397-01(21514) & ENRG 4397-02(21515) Fall 2015
Section/Times:
Professor:
Office Hours:
Office Phone:
I.

17744 & 21514 TTh 2:30 4:00 PM

18988 & 21515 TTh 4:00 - 5:30 PM
S. Radhakrishnan, Ph.D.
MH 280-H: TTH 12 to 1:30 PM and by
appointment
713 773 4274

Course Description
The energy industry is diverse, complex, changing and growing. It also has a significant impact on many segments of the world
economy and politics. Anyone working in the Energy Industry or interacting with it would significantly benefit from thru a
good understanding of the various parts of the Energy Supply Chain and how they are connected. Any student of Management
with interest in the Energy Industry should not only have a good understanding of the Energy Supply Chain, but also how
money is made or not made in the various parts of the supply chain. Simple economic models are used to illustrate the levers
that impact the profitability of the different parts of the chain. Real world examples are used to illustrate additional factors that
impact the profitability but do not lend themselves to be readily modeled. Several experts in their respective fields will join the
class as guest speakers and share their experiences in managing some of the tougher challenges in the industry.
We encourage students to research other examples either in the literature or at their place of employment.

II.

Course Objectives
The main purpose of the course is to provide students a basic understanding of the various aspects of the Energy Supply Chain
covering the crude oil, natural gas and electric power supply chains. By successfully completing this course, students should
understand and be able to articulate the key elements of the businesses in each of the different energy sub-chains and how
money is made in them. We will bring real life industry experience on different parts of the value chain thru Guest Lecturers.
Students will work thru Case studies to learn the different complexities of the industry and how to think more holistically in
understanding and addressing the challenges of the industry. The students will work thru some current real world situations
whose solutions are still evolving. Some of the topics and cases include:
Crude Oil : Basics of geology, formation of hydrocarbons, discovery, exploration, production & oil and gas reserve
classification, production sharing agreements and other models
Natural Gas : Production, transportation, distribution and Shale gas
LNG: Liquefaction, Transportation, Regassification and distribution
Energy Supply / Demand history and forecast for the next 20 years
Pipelines Some international pipelines and the challenges surrounding their construction and operation
Oil Refining : Basic of refining, Refinery economics, Biofuels and possible future of the refining sector
Petrochemicals: Basics and trends
The Power sector: Power generation, distribution, Regulations
Role of alternate fuels for the automotive sector

III.

Course Textbook and Other Requirements

There is no single textbook that covers all aspects of the Energy Industry. However we will use:
Oil 101 by Morgan Downey published by Wooden Table Press LLC, First Edition 2009, ISBN: 978-0-9820392-0-5.
Oil and Gas for Beginners A guide to the oil and gas industry A Deutsche Bank Report , September 2010.
Excerpts from the Deutsche report will be posted on Blackboard at the appropriate time during the semester. During the
course of the semester several other text books and published articles will be referenced to provide insights on different
topics.
Projects:
Projects are an important part of this course. The students will work in teams thru 2 different projects involving two different
businesses in the supply chain. These will involve research of literature including those published by the Government and
Corporations. The teams will submit their team reports. Your teams grade for the case analysis will be determined by the
strength of your teams case write-up and your recommendations.

IV.

Grading
Each student's final numerical score for the course is based on the following items and weights:
Grading breakdown
Item
1. HW assignments + Pop Quizzes
2. Group Project
3. Attendance & Class Participation

Weight
30%
25%+25%
20%

Remarks
Written report

We do not curve grades in advanced courses. We will use the guidelines as suggested by the University for grading.
V.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Our objective is to help all students achieve their highest potential in the Bauer College of Business. If you need to receive
accommodation in the classroom, on exams or with assignments, please make arrangements with your instructor prior to the
exam or assignment. You can also contact the Justin Dart Center for Students with Disabilities (713-743-5400) in order to
obtain assistance. Services provided by the Center for Students with Disabilities include assistance with course
accommodations, adaptive equipment, individualized exam administration, taped textbooks, wheelchair repair, library needs,
handicapped parking, as well as many other needs.

VI.

Academic Integrity
All students are expected to be familiar with the University of Houston Academic Honesty policy that is published in the
graduate catalog. In particular, the following four principles apply to this class:

All homework assignments and exams should reflect your own effort only (except as noted above for homework
assignments where work with other students is documented). Discussion with others from another section about
graded submissions is a violation of the Academic Honesty Policy.

Passing case notes and class handouts to students who have yet to take the course, who attend a different
section, or receiving material from those who took the class in the past, is strictly prohibited.

Plagiarizing (the misrepresentation of work done by others as being ones own work) is a violation of the Academic
Honesty Policy. Remember to cite all sources of information and ideas to prevent problems.

You may not submit the same work (or substantially similar work) to meet the requirements of more than one course
without the written consent of all instructors concerned.

Plagiarism is defined as representing as ones own work the work of another without appropriately acknowledging the
source.
Fundamentally, plagiarism is a deceit, an act of intellectual dishonesty that consists of passing off anothers words as
ones own. Plagiarism may take the form of repeating anothers sentences as your own, paraphrasing someone elses
argument as your own or even presenting someone elses line of thinking in the development of a thesis as though it
were your own. In short, to plagiarize is to give the impression that you have written or thought something that you
have in fact borrowed from another. Although a writer may use other persons words and thoughts, they must be
acknowledged as such.1
Please make certain that your work clearly acknowledges that of others. Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic honesty
and may result in a failing grade and possibly more severe action. The university does not institutionalize plagiarism by
acknowledging, excusing or condoning ignorance under the rubric of unintentional plagiarism. If you are unsure how to
recognize and avoid plagiarism, please take the time to review the plagiarism tutorial at: TBA.

VII.

Blackboard/Tentative Class Schedule We will be using Blackboard to provide additional course-related materials,
forums for outside class discussions, study guides, grade posting, etc. In addition, we ask that you use Blackboard email
rather than university email for all class-related business.
An outline of the syllabus is presented below. It is also posted on Blackboard for ready reference.

Energy Supply Chain Management SCM 4302 Fall 2015