<DIV><p>The treatment of joint costs, which has troubled the sector for decades, is an integral part of any study of accounting in the petroleum industry.</p><p>Abdulhadi H. Taher treats joint costs and the problem of “transfer prices” from one division of an international petroleum organization to another as an essential element in determining the revenues to be assigned to each. He also discusses the chemistry of hydrocarbons in order to determine a formal system of cost allocation.</p><p><b>Abdulhadi H. Taher</b> is the former director general of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals, and he has served as a board member of Aramco and governor of Petromin.</p></DIV>