Description
Book SynopsisExplains that the truth behind increasingly volatile oil market is that over the years oil prices have come untethered from all classical notions of supply and demand and have transcended any country's, consortium's, cartel's, or corporate entity's powers to control them.
Table of ContentsForeword xiii Preface xv
Quick Reference Guide xix
List of Figures xxiii
List of Tables xxvii
List of Boxes xxix
1 TheWorld Crude Oil Paradoxes 1
2 The Market Events from 2008 to 2011 7
World Energy Policy 8
The Financial Crisis and the Oil Market 10
Fundamentals or Financial Speculation? 17
Demand/Supply of Gasoline and Gasoil 21
WTI – Brent Differential 24
3 Evolution of the Price of Crude Oil from the 1960s up to 1999 29
1960–1980: The Oil Monopoly and the Two Crises in the 1970s 30
The 1980s: The Gradual Disappearance of OPEC 33
The Price War 35
1985–2000: From the Introduction of Brent as an International Benchmark to the Clean Air Act 37
The Suicide of OPEC 40
The Start of the Free Market 41
The Consequences of the Environmental Turnaround 44
4 Changes in the Market for Automotive Fuels 45
Evolution of Environmental Demand 45
Gasoline and its Components 50
Reforming 51
Cracking 52
Alkylation 53
Isomerization 53
Refiners Walk the Tightrope 53
The Fiscal Policy of the Industrialized Countries Regarding Fuels 55
5 World Oil Flow 63
Transformations in the Downstream 66
World Supply Structure 70
6 The Classical Model of the International Oil Market 73
7 The Short-term Model of the International Oil Market 81
8 The Brent Market 89
The Sale and Purchase Contract 90
The Forward Market for Brent (15 day Brent Contract) 94
The IPE Brent Market 100
The Divorce Between Oil Price and Oil 102
9 Principal Uses of the Forward and Futures Markets 105
Tax Spinning 105
Benchmarking 105
Hedging the Price Risks 106
Speculations on Operational Flexibilities at Loading 114
Market Structure: Contango and Backwardation 117
Procedures at the Loading Terminals 119
10 Problems of the Brent Forward Market 123
11 The European Refinery Crisis 131
12 Conclusions:We are Ourselves OPEC 155
Bibliography 163
Index 165
