TRADE BETWEEN MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS: A study of offshore oil production 1. Introduction 2. Measurement costs, auctions and the process of price formation 3. Vertical disintegration 4. The offshore oil supply industry 5. The multinational offshore oil supply industry: the theoretical aspect 6. The offshore oil supply industry in its main British service base 7. Legal and customary practices in the offshore oil supply industry markets 8. Bid-prices, rent distribution and adjustment in the long-run 9. Measurement costs and optimization of the number of invited tender bidders 10. The buyers as market-makers 11. Host countries and the international offshore oil supply industry: problems of entry and exit 12. Conclusions: on choosing a market in the offshore oil-gathering business.