A comprehensive guide to the oil markets

Oil Trading Manual

A comprehensive guide to the oil markets

Edited by David Long

The new edition of OTM provides a unique and comprehensive reference source to the latest developments in the structure and conduct of the international oil markets including:

Physical characteristics and refining
Oil pricing arrangements
Physical oil markets
Forward and futures contracts
Options and swaps
Operations and logistics
Accounting and taxation
Controlling financial risk
Legal and regulatory control

OTM provides a unique and comprehensive reference source to the structure and conduct of the international oil markets. The newly-updated manual covers all the major oil trading instruments and their applications; the trading centres, contracts, uses and users of both the physical and the terminal oil markets, and their administrative, management, tax, and accounting implications. It also includes vital information on the most recent changes to the international legal and regulatory structures.

The manual is divided into three complementary parts;

1. Characteristics An introduction to oil and oil trading, and includes material on the nature of oil as a commodity, refinery processes and the different ways in which oil is priced.

2. Instruments and markets Deals with the oil market itself taking each segment in turn, explaining how the various trading instruments work and describing the markets that have evolved to trade them. It starts with the physical oil markets, moving on to forward and futures markets, followed by options and swaps.

3. AdministrationCovers the essential 'back-room' activities without which oil trading could not continue. It includes practical material on operations and logistics, credit control, accounting, taxation, contracts and regulation, and controlling financial risk, providing a unique guide to the subject.

Compiled from the contributions of a range of internationally respected professionals, it is the indispensable practical companion for all those involved with trading in this complex commodity.

About the Editor

David Long is a Partner in Oxford Petroleum Research Associates (Opra) and specialises in the operation and development of oil and gas markets. He is a regular contributor to newsletters published by Petroleum Argus Ltd, and research reports published by the Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES) in London. His interests include the development and application of new trading techniques in the oil and gas industries and he has been involved in the preparation of training material on swaps and options and development of computer software for analysing oil price behaviour. David began his career with BP in 1977, where he worked in Corporate Planning and Supply Departments. He spent two years on secondment at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, studying the development of forward paper markets in oil, before joining the institute as a Research Fellow from 1986 to 1989.

The Contributors

Alain Ahkong, Pioneer Associates
Hanif Barma, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Frederic Barnaud, Elf Trading SA
Robin Burley,Kennet Oil Logistics
Sally Clubley, Invincible Energy
Francoise Deshusses, UBS
Phil Greatrex, CW Energy Tax Consultants Limited
Malcolm Groom, Notron Rose
Catherine Hamer, Independent Consultant
Catherine Jago
Diyar Kanashev, Notron Rose
David Knox, Nations Bank-CRT
Philippe Lautard, Elf Trading
Julian Lee, Centre for Global Energy Studies
Rachel Leigh, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
John S Levin, Miller and Chevalier
Vince Mulvey, Norton Rose
Matthew Price, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Petroleum Argus
Hugh Quick, Independent Consultant
Blanche Sas, Denton Hall
David Zimmerman, Miller and Chevalier