Table of Contents

History of the oil industry from 1859 to 2026: Drake's well, Standard Oil, OPEC, oil shocks, shale revolution, and the modern era.

Crude oil classification explained: API gravity, sulfur content, TAN, and the spectrum from light sweet to heavy sour grades.

What counts as oil: crude, condensate, NGLs, biofuels, refinery gains, and how total oil liquids supply is measured globally.

Petroleum chemistry explained: paraffins, naphthenes, aromatics, olefins, and the molecular structures that determine fuel quality.

Oil industry structure: upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors. IOCs, NOCs, independents, and oilfield service companies.

Oil exploration and production: seismic surveys, drilling, well completion, decline curves, and enhanced oil recovery techniques.

Oil refining explained: distillation, cracking, reforming, blending, and how crude oil becomes gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

Petroleum product standards: API, ASTM, octane, cetane, flash point, pour point, and the specifications that define fuel quality.

Petroleum products explained: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, fuel oil, LPG, lubricants, asphalt, waxes, and their market dynamics.

Petrochemicals from oil and gas: ethylene, propylene, plastics, fertilizers, and the chemical building blocks of modern industry.

Oil transportation and logistics: pipelines, tankers, VLCC shipping, rail, trucks, and how crude and products move globally.

Oil storage explained: tank farms, salt caverns, floating storage, the Cushing hub, and strategic petroleum reserves worldwide.

Oil market seasonality: driving season, heating oil demand, refinery turnarounds, and how seasonal patterns shape crude prices.

Oil reserves classification: proved, probable, possible, reserve replacement ratios, Hubbert peak oil theory, and resource estimates.

Oil industry environmental rules: emissions standards, sulfur limits, carbon pricing, fuel regulations, and climate policy impacts.

Engine technology and oil demand: internal combustion, hybrids, electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells, and efficiency standards.

How oil prices work: WTI, Brent, Dubai benchmarks, price reporting agencies, netback pricing, and what drives crude oil prices.

Oil futures and swaps explained: NYMEX WTI, ICE Brent, the forward curve, contango, backwardation, and OTC swap markets.

Oil options explained: calls, puts, collars, three-way structures, Black-76 pricing, Greeks, and volatility skew in energy markets.

Oil hedging strategies for producers and consumers: swaps, collars, three-ways, put spreads, and corporate treasury workflows.

The US shale revolution: horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, Permian Basin growth, and how tight oil reshaped global markets.

OPEC+ explained: the Saudi-Russia alliance, production cuts, price wars, spare capacity management, and quota politics since 2016.

When oil went negative: April 20, 2020, WTI at minus $37.63, Cushing storage limits, and what it revealed about physical futures.

US LNG exports: how America went from net gas importer to the world's largest LNG exporter in a decade, reshaping global energy.

The energy transition and oil: EVs, renewables, carbon markets, LCOE crossover, peak oil demand forecasts, and what comes next.

The 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis: Iran blockade, 12 Mbpd shut in, oil at $166, SPR countdown, and 15 market consequences.

WTI and Brent futures contract mechanics: NYMEX CL, ICE Brent, BFOETM composition, dated Brent, Platts MOC, CFDs, EFP, and EFS.

Oil and gas conversion factors: barrels, tonnes, BTU, API gravity, energy density, and standard unit tables for petroleum products.