Chapter 1: Introducing Cash Flow

What petroleum economists care about above all else in the world is cash flow (in a professional, not a personal, sense that is; although many, myself included, consider it to be quite important in our personal lives too).

So what is cash flow, and why do petroleum economists care so passionately about it?

Cash flow is the flow of cash from someone to someone else, or from one organization to another one; that is, real money changing hands from a provider to a recipient. Providers can be just about anyone and just about any kind of organization, and so can recipients. And it comes in all shapes and sizes: it can matter or it may not, it may be expected or it may be a surprise, it may excite me or it may scare me, it may be in my control or it may not be.