Protests Target BP but Hit Independent Dealers

Introduction

Crude Oil Marketing

This function is not related to the crude oil trading function. The oil marketing function works with exploration and production to market its products to the general public which includes the crude oil trading business unit. Crude oil marketers also carry out the duties of the oil traders, but unlike oil trading any other company capable of bidding the appropriate price is eligible to purchase the crude oil via a website.

To set a market price, crude oil marketing requires information on type and quantity of crude oil produced, total cost of the crude oil exploration and production activities, and its availability in the long and short term. The marketer's also communicate discount status and type/quantity of crude oil available to its customers. (National Petroleum Council 2004 54)

Commodity Market

Spot market for crude oil trading. Oil is sold under a variety of contract arrangements and in spot transactions. Oil is also traded in futures markets, a mechanism designed to distribute risk among participants on different sides (or with different expectations) of the market, but not generally to supply physical volumes of oil. Both spot markets and futures markets provide critical price information for contract markets. They are also used by the company to balance supply and demand.

Competitors

Other oil producing and trading companies. While everyone in the market wishes to buy at a low price and sell at a high price, buyers and sellers are on opposite sides of the transaction and their risks are inherently different. Other players in the oil industry could also have varying appetite for risk, and speculators may wish to gamble that the price will move one way or the other. The futures market, a zero-sum game where there is a buyer for every seller, distributes the risk among market participants according to their positions and appetites. The ability of a company to procure the right crude it requires at the appropriate time and at a reduced cost is very vital. (Lewin 2003 96)

Internal and External

Shale gas is very much in the press very popular resource however shale but it is the oldest source of energy in the US the first gas well to be drilled in the US soil was in 1821 in new York and was used to illuminate the town of Firirndia shale gas produces 10% of energy Coal bed methane another 10% according to Energy analyst predictions was thought that coal bed methane was going to increase and the production of shale gas was going to diminuish shale rock is very popular rock among the geologist but due to limitation in technology researches could not take full advantages of the rock and exploit the reservoirs in fully what is happening is that technology and demand have allow access to this resource and turn it from gas in place to very much a producible source of energy there was a great deal of research expenditures both in the Lab and on the field that ...