Freight is the King

Adi Imsirovic () and Colin Bryce ()
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Adi Imsirovic: Surrey Clean Energy
Colin Bryce: Energex Partners

Chapter Chapter 2 in The Rivers of Money, 2025, pp 17-37 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter describes the intricate world of oil trading and logistics during the mid-twentieth century, highlighting the dominance of freight costs over crude oil prices. It begins with Robin Burley's challenges at British Petroleum (BP) in 1967, where efficient logistics were crucial due to the high shipping costs that often exceeded the price of crude oil. The narrative explores the static nature of the oil market controlled by the Seven Sisters, a group of major oil companies that dictated prices and supply. The discovery of oil in new regions like Algeria, Nigeria, and Venezuela in the 1950s began to shift the power dynamics, introducing independent companies that offered better concession terms and higher royalties. The chapter also covers the rise of OPEC, the impact of geopolitical events, and the emergence of trading opportunities through regulatory arbitrage in the 1970s. It concludes with the evolution of the Rotterdam spot market and the role of various traders and companies in shaping the modern oil trading landscape.

Keywords: BP; Seven sisters; New oil regions; OPEC; Regulatory arbitrage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-91806-3_2

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-91806-3_2

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