Preface
Crude oil is the major source of fuel used in the modern world. It is
generally in a liquid state and is recovered by drilling and pumping, after which it is transported in tankers and pipelines.
The crude oil sector is the largest and most dominant economic
sector of business in the United States. It is increasingly apparent
that responsibility for the long-term consequences of economic and
technological development decisions is extremely important and
the logic of looking after the short term and letting the future take
care of itself seems harder and harder to justify or sustain. Solving
the supply problem requires innovative approaches, economic
attractiveness, environmental appeal, and social responsibility.
Such a course of action calls for background knowledge of the character of crude oil and the various factors that contribute to the price.
In fact, the market price on which contractual arrangements are
settled is full of unknowns, concealing everything about trends in
the costs of production. In the surplus, represented by the difference between the sale price obtained and the costs incurred, there is
the shareholders' expected return on their investment (ROI), which
determines whether, when, and on what terms petroleum-pricing
influences the market.
The economics of crude oil pricing is one of the most complex
and variable mechanisms in the commodities market. It is affected
by a host of different factors, and it can be extremely difficult to
determine which factors have the greatest impact on the actual
spot price at any given point in time. In the past year, the crude oil
markets have been extremely volatile; there have been claims that
they have been subject to manipulation but the evidence is sorely
lacking. On the other hand, if manipulation does not drive the oil
markets, there is no evidence either that it does not take place.
The whole issue is so debatable that the true drivers of the market
may never be known with any degree of certainty.
One way for scientists, engineers, and people of lesser technical backgrounds to remove themselves from the dark shadow of
economic guesswork is to understand, to some extent, the technological and political factors that are involved in crude oil economics.
IX
Crude oil is the major source of fuel used in the modern world. It is
generally in a liquid state and is recovered by drilling and pumping, after which it is transported in tankers and pipelines.
The crude oil sector is the largest and most dominant economic
sector of business in the United States. It is increasingly apparent
that responsibility for the long-term consequences of economic and
technological development decisions is extremely important and
the logic of looking after the short term and letting the future take
care of itself seems harder and harder to justify or sustain. Solving
the supply problem requires innovative approaches, economic
attractiveness, environmental appeal, and social responsibility.
Such a course of action calls for background knowledge of the character of crude oil and the various factors that contribute to the price.
In fact, the market price on which contractual arrangements are
settled is full of unknowns, concealing everything about trends in
the costs of production. In the surplus, represented by the difference between the sale price obtained and the costs incurred, there is
the shareholders' expected return on their investment (ROI), which
determines whether, when, and on what terms petroleum-pricing
influences the market.
The economics of crude oil pricing is one of the most complex
and variable mechanisms in the commodities market. It is affected
by a host of different factors, and it can be extremely difficult to
determine which factors have the greatest impact on the actual
spot price at any given point in time. In the past year, the crude oil
markets have been extremely volatile; there have been claims that
they have been subject to manipulation but the evidence is sorely
lacking. On the other hand, if manipulation does not drive the oil
markets, there is no evidence either that it does not take place.
The whole issue is so debatable that the true drivers of the market
may never be known with any degree of certainty.
One way for scientists, engineers, and people of lesser technical backgrounds to remove themselves from the dark shadow of
economic guesswork is to understand, to some extent, the technological and political factors that are involved in crude oil economics.
IX