Oxford Energy Podcast – Oil Benchmarks Under Stress
In this podcast Bassam Fattouh and Adi Imsirovic discuss with David Ledesma the effects of the demand shock on oil benchmarks. The sharp contraction in demand has stressed the oil markets to the core causing massive oversupply which has quickly overwhelmed available storage. These have exposed the weaknesses in some benchmarks and the widened divide between physical and financial oil markets. In this podcast, they discuss the negative WTI prices witnessed on 20 April, and the difference of well over $6 in the price assessment for the same crude (Oman) and the heavy lifting done by Dated Brent and quality differentials. Concluding that, in spite of this, markets have worked reasonably well and as intended.
