Discuss the following questions using relevant examples and in$-$depth literature review and empirical evidence:

A$.$

Natural resource and energy companies in evaluating proposed investments employ several criteria principally: $($a$)$ payback period, $($b$)$ net present value $($at various discount rates$),$ and $($c$)$ internal rate of return $($IRR$).$ Give your own assessment of the usefulness of these criteria for investors. Discuss one additional assessment tool can be utilised to provide further insights to guide the investment decision.

B$.$

One contribution of real options analysis $($ROA$)$ is the emphasis on the importance of valuing flexibility in investments and other decisions. Discuss this claim. Include in your answer a careful discussion of one or more examples of real options that may arise as part of investment or other decisions faced by firms or governments.

C$.$

You have recently evaluated two alternative projects, project A and project B$,$ and found their internal rate of return $($IRR$)$ to be $15\%$ and $17\mathrm{.}5\%$ respectively. The cost of capital is $10\%.$ These figures have been provided to a senior manager, who is a non$-$finance member of the companys projects review and selection board. The senior manager would like to understand how the information provided can be used in choosing between projects A and B$.$ Discuss how you would help the senior manager in this regard.

D$.$ Depreciation is a method of attributing the historic $($purchase$)$ cost of an asset across its useful life, corresponding to wear and tear. Discuss the merits and demerits of at least four methods of depreciation.

E$.$

Distinguish between hard and soft capital rationing and discuss the reasons why a natural resource or energy company may sometimes deliberately turn down value$-$adding schemes.

F$.$

The global shift to renewable energy poses significant challenges and opportunities for petroleum producing countries. Discuss how the concept and structure of government take as metric for benchmarking the degree of fairness in investment decision$-$making in the natural resources and energy industry might evolve in response to the global energy transition. To what extent can these governments adapt their fiscal policies to encourage sustainable practices while ensuring a fair share for their natural resources?

G$.$

When firms are financed by a mixture of debt $($D$)$ and equity $($D$),$ there is a need to calculate the expected rate of return on the company's total assets $[$that is$,$ firm value $($V$)=$ D$+$E$].$ Discuss the concept of Weighted Average Cost of Capital $($WACC$)$ and the idea that debt financing offers something that equity financing does not.