They were a band of outsiders unable to get jobs with New York's gilded financial establishment. They would go on to build the world's multitrillion-dollar oil market, reaping unimaginable riches while bringing the economy to its knees. Meet the self-anointed kings of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the place where global oil prices are set to this day. In some ways, they are everything you would expect them to be: a secretive, members-only club of men and women who live lavish lifestyles; cavort with politicians, strippers, and celebrities; and blissfully jack up oil prices while profiting off the misery of the working class. In other ways, they are nothing you can imagine: many come from working-class families themselves. The progeny of Jewish, Irish, and Italian immigrants who escaped war-torn Europe, they take pride in flagrantly spurning Wall Street. Under the thumb of an all-powerful international oil cartel, the energy market had long eluded the grasp of America's hungry capitalists. Neither the oil royalty of Houston nor the titans of Wall Street had ever succeeded in fully wresting away control. But facing extinction, the rough-and - tumble traders of this tribe-led by the reluctant son of a produce merchant - went after Big Oil and won, creating the world's first free oil market and minting billions across decades of treachery and glory. Their stunning journey from poverty to prosperity belies the brutal and violent history that is their legacy. This is the real-life story both Washington and Wall Street don't want you to read.

The relationship between the price of oil and the level of economic activity is a fundamental issue in macroeconomics. There is an ongoing debate in the literature about whether positive oil price shocks cause recessions in the United States (and other oil-importing countries), and although there exists a vast empirical literature that investigates the effects of oil price shocks, there are relatively few studies that investigate the direct effects of uncertainty about oil prices on the real economy. The book uses recent advances in macroeconomics and financial economics to investigate the effects of oil price shocks and uncertainty about the price of oil on the level of economic activity.

High oil prices are bound to undermine the U.S. economic recovery, unless global supplies increase significantly. Latin America holds the world's biggest oil reserves after the Middle East, but politics are hindering its potential, especially in Venezuela. Global U.S. security would benefit from a revamping of outdated and misguided idealism-driven policies toward Latin America, which, in fact, strengthen anti-American forces led by President Hugo Chavez.
This is a blind spot in American politics, one that threatens U.S. geopolitical and economic interests. At stake, ultimately, is the U.S.'s ability to navigate a shifting world and protect its way of life. Washington needs a new regional policy not only to neutralize Chavez, but also to secure long term access to Latin America's oil, improve global security, and counter the rising influence of regional players.
"America's Blind Spo"t offers a fascinating and thorough analysis of key geopolitical and economic threats to the U.S., highlighting the need for a new Latin American policy doctrine based on military and strategic priorities.

On 20 April 2010 the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig was destroyed by an explosion and fire, and the oil well began releasing oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill caused significant economic harm to the Gulf fishing industry because of fishery closures and consumer concerns related to the safety of Gulf seafood. Intermediate and long-term concerns are related to impacts on marine populations and degradation of fisheries habitat necessary for spawning, development of early life stages and growth. This book presents information related to damages caused by the oil spill to Gulf fisheries and wildlife and efforts to mitigate these damages. Many uncertainties exist because of the complexity and scale of Gulf fisheries and ecosystems that have been affected by the oil spill. Direct and indirect damages to fisheries and the Gulf environment are still being assessed and these efforts are likely to continue for years to come.

Two decades ago, British Petroleum, a venerable and storied corporation, was running out of oil reserves. Along came a new CEO of vision and vast ambition, John Browne, who pulled off one of the greatest corporate turnarounds in history. BP bought one company after another and then relentlessly fired employees and cut costs. It skipped safety procedures, pumped toxic chemicals back into the ground, and let equipment languish, even while Browne claimed a new era of environmentally sustainable business as his own. For a while the strategy worked, making BP one of the most profitable corporations in the world. Then it all began to unravel, in felony convictions for environmental crimes and in one deadly accident after another. Employees and regulators warned that BP's problems, unfixed, were spinning out of control, that another disaster--bigger and deadlier--was inevitable. Nobody was listening. Having reported on business and the energy industry for nearly a decade, Abrahm Lustgarten uses interviews with key executives, former government investigators, and whistle-blowers along with his exclusive access to BP's internal documents and emails to weave a spellbinding investigative narrative of hubris and greed well before the gulf oil spill.

People in Africa argue that natural resources are a blessing; it is the way these are plundered and used that can turn them into a curse. The continent has plenty of experience of such plunder. Rich in resources, Africa is a net supplier of energy and raw materials to the North. The climate crisis confronting the world today is rooted mainly in the wealthy economies' abuse of fossil fuels, indigenous forests and global commercial agriculture. But, without agreement about how to tackle this reality, the question often becomes what can be done about Africa. Or, sometimes, for Africa. This book looks at what has been done to Africa and how Africans should respond for the good of all. Bassey examines the oil industry in Africa, probes the roots of global warming, warns of its insidious impacts and explores false 'solutions'. Crucially, his intelligent and wide-ranging approach demonstrates that the issues around natural resource exploitation, corporate profiteering and climate change must be considered together if we are to save ourselves. What can Africa do? And can the rest of the world act in solidarity? If not, will we continue on the path laid out by elites that brings us ever closer to the brink? Many live in denial even as ecological and social disasters increase, but this is not inevitable and Bassey suggests how Africa can overcome the crises of environment and global warming.

The recent escalation in the violent conflict in the Niger Delta has brought the region to the forefront of international energy and security concerns. This book analyses the causes, dynamics and politics underpinning oil-related violence in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It focuses on the drivers of the conflict, as well as the ways the crises spawned by the political economy of oil and contradictions within Nigeria's ethnic politics have contributed to the morphing of initially poorly coordinated, largely non-violent protests into a pan-Delta insurgency. Approaching the issue from a number of perspectives, the book offers the most up-to-date and comprehensive analysis available of the varied dimensions of the conflict. Combining empirically-based and analytic chapters, it attempts to explain the causes of the escalation in violence, the various actors, levels and dynamics involved, and the policy challenges faced with regard to conflict management/resolution and the options for peace. It also examines the role of oil as a commodity of global strategic significance, addressing the relationship between oil, energy security and development in the Niger Delta.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, commonly known as OPEC, has been a notoriously opaque and mysterious organization. In this book, Fadil J. Chalabi, an insider who spent many years at the heart of the organization as Iraq's permanent undersecretary for oil, invites us to discover the intrigue and arguments that have shaped OPEC policy since its inception in 1960. The author interweaves his analysis with first-hand experiences that give authenticity to momentous events, including the infamous 1975 Vienna hostage-taking when Carlos the Jackal kidnapped a number of OPEC ministers, including the author. From the time of Egypt under Nasser, Gaddafi's Libya, Saddam's Iraq and Khomeini's Iranian revolution, Chalabi uses his unique position and his unparallelled insider knowledge to illuminate an organization that has, at times, been accused of fomenting economic turmoil, political unrest and even military action.

Benefiting from the perspective of an insider who understands the inner workings of OPEC and its dramatic impact on world politics and economics, this book is an essential read for those who wish to look beyond the myths of this highly influential and at times controversial organization.

The global market for oil and gas resources is rapidly changing. Three major trends --the rise of new consumers, the increasing influence of state players, and concerns about climate change --are combining to challenge existing regulatory structures, many of which have been in place for a half-century. "Global Energy Governance" analyzes the energy market from an institutionalist perspective and offers practical policy recommendations to deal with these new challenges.

Much of the existing discourse on energy governance deals with hard security issues but neglects the challenges to global governance. "Global Energy Governance" fills this gap with perspectives on how regulatory institutions can ensure reliable sources of energy, evaluate financial risk, and provide emergency response mechanisms to deal with interruptions in supply.

The authors bring together decisionmakers from industry, government, and civil society in order to address two central questions:

-What are the current practices of existing institutions governing global oil and gas on financial markets?

-How do these institutions need to adapt in order to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century?

The resulting governance-oriented analysis of the three interlocking trends also provides the basis for policy recommendations to improve global regulation.

Contributors include Thorsten Benner, Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; William Blyth, Chatham House, Royal Institute for International Affairs, London; Albert Bressand, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; Dick de Jong, Clingendael International Energy Programme; Ralf Dickel, Energy Charter Secretariat; Andreas Goldthau, Central European University, Budapest, and Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; Enno Harks, Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; Wade Hoxtell, Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; Hillard Huntington, Energy Modeling Forum, Stanford University; Christine Jojarth, Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Stanford University; Frederic Kalinke, Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University; Wilfrid L. Kohl, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Jamie Manzer, Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; Amy Myers Jaffe, James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University; Yulia Selivanova, Energy Charter Secretariat; Tom Smeenk, Clingendael International Energy Programme; Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University; Ronald Soligo, Rice University; Joseph A. Stanislaw, Deloitte LLP and The JAStanislaw Group, LLC; Coby van der Linde, Clingendael International Energy Programme; Jan Martin Witte, Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin; Simonetta Zarrilli, Division on International Trade and Commodities, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Out of sight, out of mind. That's the general public's reaction to the crucial movement of oil around the world's oceans. Yet this vital supply chain that allows the world to function is constantly under enormous, largely unreported pressure. The uninterrupted flow of oil is essential to globalization and increasingly so as manufacturing and markets move Eastwards to Asia. However, it is threatened by conflicts between nation states, pirates and global warming. All too often the movement of oil by ocean is something taken for granted by the majority of the world yet it is fraught with difficulty, and could haemorrhage global growth if issues covered in this book are not resolved or allowed to escalate. From reporting onboard giant tankers to looking at the geopolitical shift in oil consumption, "Oil on Water" is holistic, all encompassing and engrossing look at the way oil is moved and consumed mixing reportage, examples and hard-hitting facts.

The world as we have known it for the past century would have been very different without petroleum. Petroleum, particularly in the form of crude oil and its refined products, has been central to all aspects of modern industrial society and has been a major strategic geopolitical objective for nations. The 20th century was the age of oil, and at least part of the 21st century will be as well. Petroleum is used as an energy source and as a raw material for the production of an immense variety of chemicals and synthetic materials. Almost all the world's food relies on petroleum for fertilizer, pesticides, cultivation, or transport. Petroleum has been particularly dominant as a source of transportation fuels, an application for which cost-effective substitutes will be especially difficult to find. The A to Z of the Petroleum Industry presents a concise but complete one-volume reference on the history of the petroleum industry from pre-modern times to the present day. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, and over 400 cross-referenced dictionary entries on companies, people, places, events, technologies, and phenomena related to the history of the world's petroleum industry. Anyone interested in the history, status, and outlook for the petroleum industry will find this book a uniquely valuable source.

Out of sight, out of mind. That's the general public's reaction to the crucial movement of oil around the world's oceans. Yet this vital supply chain that allows the world to function is constantly under enormous, largely unreported pressure. The uninterrupted flow of oil is essential to globalization and increasingly so as manufacturing and markets move Eastwards to Asia. However, it is threatened by conflicts between nation states, pirates and global warming. All too often the movement of oil by ocean is something taken for granted by the majority of the world yet it is fraught with difficulty, and could haemorrhage global growth if issues covered in this book are not resolved or allowed to escalate. From reporting onboard giant tankers to looking at the geopolitical shift in oil consumption, "Oil on Water" is holistic, all encompassing and engrossing look at the way oil is moved and consumed mixing reportage, examples and hard-hitting facts.

'The Squeeze' is an invaluable account of the modern oil industry and vital to understanding the awful truth about the current disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. With unprecedented access to their engineers and executives in London and Houston, Tom Bower tells the inside story of BP's history of alleged negligence. Over the last 20 years, oil prices have soared from $7 a barrel to $147 and down to $37. Amid economic boom and bust, speculators, traders, politicians and monarchs have plotted to earn fortunes from oil, and prayed for salvation from unpredictable natural and man-made disasters. Behind the headlines are the crushing rivalries between men and women exploring for oil five miles beneath the sea, battling for control of the world's biggest corporations and gambling billions of dollars twenty-four hours every day on oil prices. Success or failure for all those extraordinary personalities depends on squeezing their rivals and squeezing the crude out of the rocks. Overweening vanity and greed absorb those titans whose ambitions are forging the world's quest for oil. Exploiting unprecedented close access to the lives of irrepressible traders in New York, oil-oligarchs in Moscow, corporate chieftains in Dallas and London and wily politicians floating in jets across the globe, Tom Bower presents the untold story of the most important quandary of our times: why, if there is plentiful oil in the earth, does mankind face a dire shortage threatening our lives? Self-interest is propelling the squeeze and there seems to be no salvation.

Oil, Dollars, Debt, and Crises studies the causes of the current oil and global financial crisis and shows how America s and the world s growing dependence on oil has created a repeating pattern of banking, currency, and energy-price crises. Unlike other books on the current financial crisis, which have focused on U.S. indebtedness and American trade and economic policy, Oil, Dollars, Debt, and Crises shows the reader a more complex picture in which transfers of wealth to and from the Middle East result in a perfect storm of global asset and financial market bubbles, increased unrest, terrorism and geopolitical conflicts, and eventually rising costs for energy. Only by addressing long-term energy policy challenges in the West, economic development challenges in the Middle East, and the investment horizons of financial market players can policy makers ameliorate the forces that have been causing repeating global economic crises.

This book examines the political and conceptual metamorphosis of China's oil industry from self-reliance to internationalization. Through the empirical case study of Daqing, the premiere oilfield of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for most of the postwar period and a symbol of industrialization as well as self-reliance, key historical developmental concepts and events are analyzed. Japan's role in stimulating the development of the China's oil industry will also be highlighted as the Japanese government and its business sectors emerged as a supplier of technology and equipment to the Chinese oil industry as well as China's first major oil customer in the early internationalization phase of the PRC's oil industry.

The GCC petrochemicals industry is going through a period of unprecedented expansion. The global petrochemical producers and technology providers alike are investing billions of dollars in GCC petrochemicals projects. The strategies for GCC petrochemical investment suggested in this book take into account the entire value chain and discuss the appropriate actions at each point in a integrated manner. It is important for investment planners to understand these issues, in order to develop or modify their strategies that ensure expeditious development for robust petrochemical projects in this region.

The price and availability of oil and natural gas affects every American. That's why it is important that the Energy Committee's first hearing of the 110th Congress focused on the global oil situation and its implications for U.S. economic and national security interests. As a nation, we now depend on oil imports to meet sixty percent of our oil needs. Even modest disruptions in the world supply can result in price spikes at the pump, as we have seen in recent years. First, there is little surplus production capacity relative to global demand. Much of the current production is controlled by national oil companies that are often making political rather than economic decisions, and are not making the investments needed to maintain and expand production capacity. This book examines the geopolitical factors surrounding the acquisition of oil supplies.

Oil leaks from aboveground tanks have contaminated soil and water, threatening human health and wildlife. To prevent damage from oil spills, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule in 1973. EPA's 10 regions inspect oil storage facilities to ensure compliance with the rule. EPA estimates that about 571,000 facilities are subject to this rule. Some states also regulate oil storage tanks. GAO determined (1) how EPA regions implement the SPCC program, (2) the data EPA has to implement and evaluate the program, and (3) whether some states' tank programs suggest ways for EPA to improve its program. GAO surveyed all 10 EPA regions and interviewed officials in EPA and six states selected on the basis of experts' recommendations, among other criteria.

All of the same great information found in the 2008 IPE in a read-only CD - absolutely perfect for executives on the go!What if we told you that you could find a resource that literally puts the petroleum world in the palm of your hands? What if we also told you that this product has already won the trust of your major competitors, and is transforming strategic decisions made by their top executives?The 2007 International Petroleum Encyclopedia became the Axiom Business Book Awards' gold medal choice for ""Best Reference Book"" and now it's time for the next round. The ""2008 International Petroleum Encyclopedia"" is here and ready to continue the winning legacy.Explore six continents' worth of indispensable information designed to give you the keys to advancing in the petroleum industry - important activities and developments concerning oilfields, pipelines, refineries, tanker terminals, and much more.Inside you'll find: a guest essay from an executive with StatoilHydro regarding the merged company's perspective on global E&P trends; information on oil and gas activities in several new countries, including Namibia, Jordan, Paraguay, and Cyprus; a review of U.S. unconventional natural gas resources; trends in alternative energy resource development; and key LNG industry developments. It also includes a read-only CD-ROM.

With oil around $100 a barrel, drivers wince whenever they pull into the gas station and businesses watch their bottom lines shrink. "Watch out," say doomsayers, "it will only get worse as oil dries up." It's a plausible argument, especially considering the rate at which countries like China and India are now sucking up oil. Even more troubling, the world's largest oil fields sit in geopolitical hotspots like Iran and Iraq. Some believe their nations need to secure remaining supplies using military force, while others consider dwindling supplies a blessing that will help solve the problem of global warming. But wait--is it really the "end of oil"? Absolutely not, says geologist, economist, and industry-insider Robin Mills. According to Mills, many ideas about petroleum depletion and its consequences are not just grossly overstated but plain wrong. Calmly and persuasively, he argues:

Refine your path to career success

Get started in a career that has a promising future and is financially rewarding. "Opportunities in Petroleum Careers" provides you with a complete overview of the job possibilities, salary figures, and experience required to enter the petroleum industry.

This career-boosting book will help you: Determine the specialty that's right for you, from scientific research to oil refining to petroleum sales Acquire in-depth knowledge of the petroleum industry Find out what kind of salary you can expect Understand the daily routine of your chosen field Focus your job search using industry resources

ENJOY A GREAT CAREER AS A:
Drilling/production engineer - Environmental scientist - Chemical plant operator * Process engineer * Independent seller

This is the first book in the petroleum sector to shed light on the real obstacles to sustainable development and provides solutions to each problem encountered. Each solution is complete with an economic analysis that clarifies why petroleum operations can continue with even greater profit than before while ensuring that the negative environmental impact is diminished. The new screening tools and models proposed in this book will provide one with proper guidelines to achieve true sustainability in both technology development and management of the petroleum sector.

The International Petroleum Encyclopedia is a time-honored and concise source of information for the rapidly changing petroleum market. This read-only CD-ROM contains all the valuable information found in the printed book, including:

Bonus wall map. Map of the Western Hemisphere Arctic Region; showing activity, infrastructure, and exploration potential in Alaska, Northern Canada and Greenland.

Atlas country reports on 118 nations including new entries for Cambodia, Uganda and Nicaragua. The section also presents the latest information on the dynamic LNG sector, developments in the Caspian region and activity in the Gulf of Mexico.

Key Stats. This section covers the years most important energy trends, including future energy supply; reserves and production; drilling and exploration; investment and markets; trade and tankers; LNG industry outlook, liquefaction and receiving, carrier fleet, risks and opportunities; refining and products; gas processing and products; petrochemicals outlook.

Statistics from the Oil & Gas Journal and BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2006. Also includes statistics from the US Energy Information Administration. The data includes oil and natural gas production, consumption, imports/exports, and prices, as well as oil refineries, capacities, margins, and throughput.

Chronology of events. Includes information on the geopolitical events of the past year that impacted the energy industry.

Guest essay. Authored by a senior executive from Chevron Corporation, the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States, with business operations in approximately 180 countries, from Nigeria, Angola andVenezuela to Australia, Qatar, as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

Directory of national oil companies and energy ministries.