Resilience in Energy Supply Chains

Abstract

The main aim of the thesis is to identify potential key capabilities that provide a base and are deemed to be vital for a high degree of supply chain resilience in case a disruption such as the COVID-19 pandemic hits a key player in the energy supply chain. The master thesis is split in two parts. The first part is based on literature research. Research dealt with the characteristics of crude oil, the definition of energy terms and common measurement units. A short overview over the process of sourcing and refining of crude was given to understand the difficulties regarding exploration, sourcing, production and reserve dynamics. The thesis continued to deal with the Austrian slip into oil dependence, the supply chain and logistics for crude with a focus on the Austrian market, as well as the challenges that come with the import of the resource. Furthermore, the Austrian energy mix was be analysed to identify the most relevant fields of application for the resource to get a glimpse at the most affected areas in case a disruption hits. Additionally, literature research dealt with supply chain resilience and various potential SC capabilities. As a result, the most important capabilities were highlighted and used in the qualitative part of the thesis. An existing supply chain resilience assessment tool was used as a basis and modified to fit the aim of the thesis. Primary research was based on Shell Austria as a defined actor that is affected by potential supply chain disruptions in the oil and gas industry. As a turbulence the author chose the COVID-19 pandemic as a disruption scenario. The findings were categorized according to preidentified key capabilities with the help of coding snippets. Consequently, the coding snippets were used in the form of power quotes to support the findings from the interviews – thus creating insights regarding the importance of the key capabilities. Findings suggest that the most important key capabilities that helped Shell to cope with the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic were flexibility, anticipation, collaboration and visibility. The present thesis provides experts with a starting point for future research. To further support the claim arising from the findings a quantitative method as suggested by the framework used could be applied to back up the claims. The more types of research are applied the more robust the results would be. Additionally, the pre-identified key capabilities could be applied to other vulnerabilities.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Supervisor	Markus Gerschberger (Supervisor)