The world is run by five clerks who work above a grocery store in Geneva, Switzerland. I am not making this up, except the number could be more than five depending on the amount of square footage above the store.
The clerks work for a company called Petrologistics, which is the world's only source for OPEC oil production numbers that come from outside OPEC. That means Petrologistics is the only definitive source for sets of numbers that underpin the entire global financial sector and thus, Petrologistics keeps modern civilization from falling back into the dark ages.
[...]Actually, civilization did manage to function on the packs of lies that the biggest governments in oil-producing nations routinely posted, but it was getting harder to totter along as globalized economic events moved faster and in an increasingly erratic fashion. Petrologistics changed the picture. Now satellite data is changing the picture again, as Irina Slav reported for Oil Price in October 2019:
Satellite data has become instrumental in providing reliable oil supply and production information to an increasingly volatile market. Companies such as Kayrros, OilX, and TankerTrackers.com all use data from satellites as well as other sources to paint a more or less comprehensive picture of oil’s fundamentals and help inform trading decisions.
The growing importance of satellite data in the oil market became acutely evident recently, following the drone and missile attacks on Saudi oil production facilities, MarketWatch’s William Watts wrote last week. He noted that the increasingly frequent satellite launches and the advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence that have combined to create a new, “alternative data” segment in the oil fundamentals market.
[...]After a number of paragraphs that should be read, if you're plugged into the issue of transparency in vital statistics, Irina points out a snag:
Satellites and artificial intelligence are changing every aspect of the oil industry and oil markets as well, it seems. They can apparently provide much more accurate data about the global supply and production than traditional reports of the sort the EIA releases weekly and OPEC and the IEA monthly. What’s even more important, they can provide it in much shorter timeframes.
On the one hand, this removes some uncertainty from the oil market. On the other, this data could actually increase price volatility when enough of it accumulates.
[...]She ends by observing:
Perhaps traders still prefer to wait for the traditional sources of information to confirm something satellite data providers have registered earlier. Such is the power of authority and reputation. But it is possible the scales could tip the other way as the reliability of the information these “alternative data” sources provide becomes more public.Yes, very possible. What can we expect then? The cynical answer would be "Not much" because if the velocity of data reporting threatens to destabilize the narratives that mask reality, governments would respond in typical fashion. They would distort satellite data by one means or another or outright quash the information, as they did with the booming oil trade between the Islamic State and Turkey. It took Vladimir Putin passing around photos at a G20 meeting to bust up the Western narrative that they had no real idea where Islamic State was getting all its money from.
But things will be different, as the alternative data sources multiply and become public. Governments will be forced to respond ever more quickly to the sheer velocity of information exchanges.
As long as I'm on the subject of energy, here are other reports that I thought important enough to pass along:
China’s Ultimate Play For Global Oil Market Control; Yossef Bodansky for Oil Price, August 15. This report is as much about the vast changes underway in the Middle East as in the global oil market. Seffy begins:
All attention is focused on the twists and turns of the very noisy US-Iran dispute in the Persian Gulf, but all the while the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is rapidly and quietly consolidating a dominant presence in the area with the active support of Russia.
Beijing, as a result, is fast acquiring immense influence over related key dynamics such as the price of oil in the world market and the relevance of the petrodollar. The PRC and the Russians are capitalizing on both the growing fears of Iran and the growing mistrust of the US. Hence, the US is already the main loser of the PRC’s gambit.
The dramatic PRC success can be attributed to the confluence of two major trends:
(1) The quality and relevance of what Beijing can offer to both Iran and the Saudi-Gulf States camp; and
(2) The decision of key Arab leaders — most notably Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin ‘Abd al-’Aziz al Sa’ud (aka MBS) and his close ally, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (aka MBZ) — to downgrade their traditional close ties with the US, and reach out to Beijing to provide a substitute strategic umbrella.
[...]****
As to whether China's galloping strides in the Middle East are a factor in U.S. backchannel diplomacy with Iran, I'd say it's a distinct possibility. See Debkafile's September 30 report,
Crack in the anti-Iran front: US persuades Saudis to engage Tehran in regional deals. The same could be a big factor in the U.S. deployment of large amounts of equipment and 3,000 troops to Saudi Arabia -- supposedly to counter Iranian actions -- that Riyadh approved in October.
Finally, here is RT's helpful Story of 5 major pipelines explains Europe’s love-hate relationship with Russian energy, published September 26.
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