question archive Suppose that there are only two firms in the petroleum market Saudi Aramco (SA) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC)
Subject:MarketingPrice:2.88 Bought3
Suppose that there are only two firms in the petroleum market Saudi Aramco (SA) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).
Demand equation: [Math Processing Error]P=110−Q
For each firm marginal cost [Math Processing Error]MC=$20
(Quantity of outcome [Math Processing Error](qSA), Price [Math Processing Error](pSA), Profit [Math Processing Error](πSA)), (Quantity of outcome [Math Processing Error](QKPC), Price [Math Processing Error](pKPC), Profit [Math Processing Error](πKPC))
[Math Processing Error]Q=qSA+qKPC
Suppose that the firms cooperate to act as a monopoly and want to form an OPEC cartel in the market, then:
a. What are the objectives of this cartel?
b. Calculate: Quantity of output, price, profit.
Given that;
[Math Processing Error]P=110−QMC=$20Q=QSA+QKPC
The objective of the cartel is to maximize profit by restricting the volume of output.
If the two firms collude and successfully form a cartel, they will maximize profit just like the monopoly. They will produce at a point where the marginal revenue is equal to the marginal cost:
[Math Processing Error]P=110−QMR=110−2QMR=MC20=110−2QQ=45∴QSA=QKPC=22.5∴P=110−45=$65
Profit is the difference between the total revenue and the total cost:
[Math Processing Error]∏=TR−TC=(65×22.5)−20(22.5)=$1012.50
Each firm will produce 22.5 units, sell at $65 each, and make a profit of 1012.50.