Introduction To Crude Oil Markets

This course will give an overview of all the topics we shall be looking at in this course. We shall begin by describing the oil value chain – the exploration and development, how oil is produced, shipped, and marketed. Moving further, we will learn about the importance of oil in the industry, both as a fuel and as a raw material in various forms in the global economy. Then, we will go through a brief history of oil – how it all began, and the different'kinds' of oil discoverers. We will be introduced to the major players in the oil market – the top producers and the major consumers. We will then see how oil is formed, how it sits deep within the earth and how we discover and refine it. We will learn about the different types of oils, and the methods employed to extract them. This will be followed by a brief overview of the different means of transporting oil, and the risks and benefits associated with the different methods of oil transport. Lastly, we shall look into the different oil benchmarks that prevail globally.