Book review: Untangling the knotty history of oil’s trading evolution
A former trader proves an illuminating guide to the messy and ad hoc way that multi-billion dollar crude markets have been born and developed
Adi Imsirovic has, in his new work Trading and Price Discovery for Crude Oils, written very much a book of two parts. The first eight chapters race us on a tour through the economic history of the oil market over the last 170 or so years; the second part gets down to the brass tacks of the complex markets spawned by producing country nationalisations on the one hand and the gaming of the UK fiscal regime for petroleum on the other. There can be few commentators with as appropriate a CV to write on this topic as the author. A professional energy economist, an educator and, for many years, a successful trader in oil markets, his detailed knowledge stands out in this analysis. Something o

Also in this section
15 July 2025
Government consultations on the windfall tax and the exploration licence ban are positive steps, but it is unclear how long it will take for them to yield tangible outcomes
15 July 2025
A brutally honest picture about the potential role of oil and gas in 2050 should prompt policymakers to not only reflect but also change course to meet vital energy needs
14 July 2025
Robust demand and a limited supply of additional physical barrels from key OPEC+ producers has kept the oil market in a healthy price range
11 July 2025
Equinor and its partners at Norway’s largest oilfield have pulled the trigger on a fresh $1.3b investment that will maintain high output for longer