2nd Edition - Fully Updated and Interactive

Oil 101

The complete guide to the oil industry. 26 chapters. 74 interactive charts. Updated daily.

by Morgan Downey, author of the bestselling Oil 101

Start Reading Breaking: Iran Blocks the Strait

Chapter 26: Iran Blocks the Strait

Strait of Hormuz reopening:

REOPENING

Live estimate, recomputed as the situation changes. The US-Iran deal, signed June 17, 2026, reopens the strait: the US lifts its blockade and oil sanctions and Iran lifts its shipping restrictions, and tankers are already resuming. The drawdown stops here. Net oil-importer reserves (ex-US) started at 1,325M bbl and fell to roughly 200M by the reopening, about 18 days short of the modeled July 7 run-dry. The reserves held, barely. oil101.morgandowney.com

Read Now — Free

74 Interactive Charts

Interactive Charts, Not Static Pages

Every chart is built with real data. Hover, click, and drill down. Here are six from across the book.

From Chapter 1

From Chapter 3

From Chapter 1

From Chapter 26 (free)

What’s Inside

26 Chapters Across Three Parts

Part One

Oil Fundamentals

From the chemistry of crude to the logistics of moving it around the world. 16 chapters covering every link in the supply chain.

Chapters 1-16

Part Two

Oil Markets

Prices, futures, options, and risk management. The mechanics of how oil trades.

Chapters 17-20

Part Three

The Modern Era

Shale, OPEC+, negative prices, US LNG, the energy transition, and the 2026 Hormuz crisis. What changed since 2009.

Chapters 21-26

Plus 2 appendices: Forward Markets Mechanics and Conversion Factors

Not just a book

74 Interactive Charts

Every chart is built with Recharts and real data. Hover, click, and drill down.

Live Market Data

WTI forward curve, contango indicator, and settlement prices updated daily.

Ask Oil 101

AI assistant trained on every chapter. Ask anything about oil markets.

Morgan’s Notes

The author reads every chapter and annotates corrections in real time.

Price Alerts

Get emailed when WTI or natural gas moves more than 5% intraday.

1st Edition PDF

Download the original 2009 bestseller as a bonus.

Free.

All 26 chapters of Oil 101 and all 21 chapters of NatGas 101. The audiobook in Morgan’s own voice, the interactive charts, the AI assistant, the certificate, and the 1st edition PDF. Open to everyone. No payment, no paywall.

Start reading Support / collector editions

Optional: an annual $19.99 supporter contribution helps cover audio production and hosting. Or commission a signed first edition or leatherbound copy on the support page.

Companion volume

NatGas 101

North American natural gas, from the rock to the pricing hub. 21 chapters covering history, players, geology, drilling, processing, pipelines, storage, power generation, LNG export, and the trading mechanics that move Henry Hub.

Free, like Oil 101. Same sign-in. Read it standalone, or alongside Oil 101.

Read NatGas 101

Sample chapters

Browse all 21 chapters →

From the same author

BoxWood

The book teaches the markets. The platform automates the workflow.

BoxWood is an AI-native hedge management system for E&P producers. Live MTM tied to bank statements, AI-checked trade confirmations into DocuSign, peer comps against public 10-K filings, reserves-grade 50-year price decks.

Try the demo

45-second walkthrough

About the Author

Morgan Downey

Author of Oil 101 (2009), the bestselling oil market primer. Morgan has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and in the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times.

Morgan also runs BoxWood, an AI-native hedge management platform for E&P producers. More at morgandowney.com.

morgandowney.com

Stay in the loop

Get a note when there’s a new chapter

Not weekly. Not a newsletter. Just a short heads-up when I publish a new chapter or rewrite a section.