A firsthand account of international petroleum product brokering—emanating from the underbelly of fraudulent daisy chains to the completion of a multimillion-dollar physical cargo transaction.
ISBN 979-8-234-12957-4
First introduced in 1994, this widely respected work draws on the firsthand experience of Richard A. Fagnani, a then relative newcomer to the industry.
It offers a rare, unvarnished perspective on the opaque world of global oil trading. The narrative traces his transition, alongside his partner, from the seductive illusions of “play brokers”—with their fictitious Saudi allocations, JP1A jet fuel offers, and ritualistic fake oil activity demands for ICPOs, RWAs, FCOs, and bank-to-bank verifications—to substantive engagement with legitimate market participants, guided by a veteran oil trader with over four decades of experience.
Past editions of A Petroleum Broker’s Notebook have been purchased by a diverse spectrum of industry professionals, including complete novices, international admiralty law firms, and major multinational energy corporations. Notable organizations that have acquired this text include:
A Petroleum Broker’s Notebook offers timelessly rare, street-smart clarity that pays dividends in knowledge and caution.
chapter 1
the fake oil business
chapter 2
the mentor
chapter 3
sophisticated falseness
chapter 4
a friend in the med.
chapter 5
a full p.o.n.a
chapter 6
a residual education
chapter 7
breaking into NWE
chapter 8
taking it to them
chapter 9
the deal?
chapter 10
a jet fuel offer
chapter 11
resid quality, more education
chapter 12
a utility, a potential trade, problems
chapter 13
requests for VGO
chapter 14
broken gas
chapter 15
problem companies
chapter 16
petroleum brokerage in the med.
chapter 17
north sea crude oil trade
chapter 18
LCO
chapter 19
crude oil dilemma
chapter 20
upstream quandary
chapter 21
negotiating for cooperative position
Revised and expanded with two additional chapters on upstream oil that chronicles the E&P asset marketing sector, this edition preserves the book’s core strength: a pragmatic, anecdote-rich exploration of supply-demand realities, market psychology, and the perennial tension between opportunism and due diligence.
Through a series of instructive and often humorously observed episodes, the book dissects the mechanics of real petroleum transactions: product specifications, quality benchmarks (P.O.N.A., N+A, RON), logistics, quantity risk minimization, straight run fuel oil, naphtha, jet fuel, gasoline, vacuum gas oil (VGO), light cycle oil (LCO), North Sea crude, Nigerian crude, L/C’s, marketing traps and the distinct dynamics of Mediterranean and Northwest European markets. It also explores upstream challenges and the delicate art of negotiating cooperative commercial positions in a relationship-driven, often insular industry.
For readers seeking substantive insight into international energy commerce—beyond textbooks or seminars—this volume delivers clarity, candor, and enduring relevance.
