This report presents the results of the Fraser Institute's second annual survey on barriers to investment in the exploration and production of oil and gas. The rankings are based on the grading of jurisdictions by managers and executives in the petroleum industry.

A total of 396 respondents participated in this year's survey, generating enough data to rank 81 jurisdictions. This is a substantial increase from the 2007 survey, in which 54 jurisdictions were ranked.

In rating the jurisdictions, scores were assigned to each of 16 factors that affect investment decisions. The rankings were calculated based on the proportion of negative scores garnered by the jurisdictions for a specific factor. Thus, the greater the proportion of negative responses a jurisdiction drew, the worse its rating.

Six composite indices were developed to organize the results along common themes. An All-Inclusive Composite Index incorporates the rankings of all 16 factors and provides an overall assessment of each jurisdiction. Based on this index, Bolivia ranked as the jurisdiction with the worst barriers to investment. Ecuador ranked second worst, followed by Venezuela. All three countries also ranked as the three worst in 2007. Among the other jurisdictions judged to have the worst investment barriers were Chad, Iraq, Nigeria, Argentina, Sudan, and Russia.