Dr. Wieslaw Kubiak’s paper, A Conditional Value-at-risk Approach to Studying the Sustainable Crude Oil Supply Chains, evolved due to change in government policies.

Co-authored with Dr. Davoud Ghahremanlou (PhD’21), a per course instructor at the business faculty, the paper examines sustainable crude oil supply chains (SCOSCs) during economic crises and provides insights for governments and investors who are endeavoring to rescue oil and bioethanol industries.

Dr. Kubiak is a university research professor and professor of quantitative methods, operations management and supply chain management.

During the pandemic, demand for fuel plunged due to self-isolation and the Saudi Arabia-Russia oil price conflict in 2020. This led to some oil and bioethanol companies in the United States (U.S.) filing for bankruptcy.

The authors examine the U.S. government’s attempt to combat COVID-19 and ensure production of hand sanitizer, and also rescue refineries from economic distress caused by the pandemic and volatile oil prices.

The researchers found that it may have been advisable for government and investors to consider focusing on the production of sanitizers.

Dr. Kubiak recommends that businesses make “robust strategic investment decisions” during economic crises, even as policies change.

Dr. Kubiak and Dr. Ghahremanlou further find that it’s strategic for investors to set up blending sites and bio-refiners, even during economic emergencies. 

The paper was published in the International Journal of Operational Research.