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Oil MarketsOil markets are a complex global system of producing, distributing, trading, and pricing petroleum products used to make diesel, jet fuel, solvents, and more.
For investors, the system of trading oil contracts offers financial access to the industry without actually having to take possession of any barrels. Traders buy and sell financial contracts, betting on future price changes of the commodity based on fluctuations in supply and demand.
These complicated and expensive investments aren't realistic for most retail investors. Instead, these investors can gain exposure to oil markets by putting money into exchange-traded funds focused on the energy sector, or by buying oil company stocks. Oil can help diversify a portfolio beyond more traditional investments such as stocks and bonds, often acting as a hedge against inflation due to rising energy costs.
Predicting oil prices is a complicated business, as they're sensitive to geopolitical events. For instance, in 2022, Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupted the market, with oil prices spiking significantly.Explore Oil Markets
What we've found
Oil markets are seeing higher costs and lower prices amid tech breakthroughsExperts say oil demand has not yet reached its peak. Recent technological breakthroughs in the oil industry include advances in drilling and extraction, as well as subsurface technologies. SpotifyEstablishing the wind power grid required incentives, reliability, and affordabilityAlthough wind was harnessed to generate electricity for individual buildings in the late 1800s, high costs, mechanical issues with turbines, and better fossil-fuel alternatives delayed wind power's widespread growth. After the oil crises of the 1970s, governments sought alternative energy sources and, in the decades that followed, provided tax credits to expand the wind power market. Tiny MattersAs of 2025, extensive research studies do not support fears about seed oilsAcross human trials, seed oils have not been shown to increase rates of disease or inflammation, with a study of over 800 Swedish men finding that higher seed oil diets were linked to living longer. Reviews of these trials found better health outcomes when saturated fats were replaced with seed oils. Science VsBP only makes up about 1% of global oil production after many misstepsBP’s market cap has never recovered from the dive it took following the 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil spill. This video details some of BP’s corporate missteps along the way. YouTubeThe US stores hundreds of millions of oil barrels in caves along the Texas-Louisiana coastThe US has a Strategic Petroleum Reserve that it taps into, releasing barrels into the economy, during times of emergency (think: major storms and wars) to try to stabilize markets. The Wall Street JournalThe Dow Jones Industrial Average was created in 1896Charles Dow introduced the DJIA on May 26, 1896, as a simple average of 12 industrial stocks. Although it became the nation’s most enduring market index, none of its original companies remain in the Dow today. Library of CongressThe Walton family behind Walmart is the world’s richest family with $432BThe world’s 10 richest families, including the families behind Hermès and Mars, control hundreds of billions of dollars worth of the world’s wealth. The WeekOil shocks, war, and the 1970s crisis that remade American energy and economicsThe oil crises of the 1970s—fueled by Middle East conflict and OPEC’s dominance—triggered inflation, price controls, and policy failure. But they also accelerated fracking, alternative energy, and the rise of free-market economics. The Marginal Revolution PodcastOil prices have been volatile for decadesThis explainer shows oil’s rollercoaster: OPEC-led embargoes in the 1970s, shale surges in the 2000s, and the US flip to becoming a net oil exporter in 2020. InvestopediaIn 2016 OPEC and 10 major producers—including Russia—launched OPEC+OPEC+ emerged in 2016 when 10 additional producers, including Russia, joined to stabilize markets amid U.S. shale growth. In 2022, OPEC alone supplied 38 % of global crude oil, but combined with OPEC+, output reached nearly 59 % of world production—significantly amplifying its market power. US Energy Information AdministrationIran-Iraq war drained over $1T from the combined economies of Iran and IraqAcross eight years (1980-88), Iran and Iraq each lost about $500 B in GDP, infrastructure destruction, military expenses, disrupted oil exports, and mounting debt—totaling over $1 T in economic damage. TheCollectorIran’s 1979 revolution sparked a second oil shock—and reconfigured global energy marketsWidespread strikes in Iran’s oil sector during the 1978-79 revolution slashed production and triggered panic buying, flooding oil markets with fear. BrookingsOPEC’s 1973 embargo sparked the first global energy shockIn October 1973, Arab OAPEC countries stopped or significantly reduced oil exports to nations backing Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Crude prices nearly quadrupled, sparking global shortages, economic recession, rationing, and major energy policy reforms. InvestopediaThe 1967 war was the first use of oil as a geopolitical weaponFollowing the June 1967 Arab–Israeli war, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Libya, and Algeria embargoed oil shipments to the US, UK, and West Germany. While the move did not have a large impact, it reshaped global oil flows, and foreshadowed OAPEC's later actions. BrookingsExplore OPEC’s official webpageOPEC’s official website offers a comprehensive hub for its core work—featuring press releases, monthly and statistical reports, digital publications like the World Oil Outlook and Annual Statistical Bulletin, and other research center materials. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting CountriesRecessions are considered to be inevitable by modern economic standardsRecessions are caused by imbalances in the market and are guaranteed to happen in capitalist systems, but predicting them is a complex task. McKinsey & CompanyThe ‘commodities’ investment category includes livestock, oil, wheat, and moreCommodities traders look at all of these things as assets, placing short-, medium-, and long-term wagers on how much each is really worth. Business InsiderThe history of the Rockefellers in 60 secondsJohn D. Rockefeller—the world’s first billionaire—once controlled 90% of the US oil market, built Standard Oil through vertical integration, and used his fortune to fund universities, museums, and landmarks like Rockefeller Center. 1440How the Rockefellers' wealth evolved over timeThe Rockefellers built one of the most powerful business empires in US history. By the early 1900s, their company, Standard Oil, controlled over 90% of the US oil market. 1440
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