Spikes and Shocks : The Financialisation of the Oil Market From 1980 to the Present Day

This book proposes that price volatility and speculation in the oil market originate from a decades-long process of financialisation. The author challenges mainstream critical accounts of the market that typically invoke the notion of a global oil shortage and so-called ‘peak oil’ arguments. Instead, he argues that the development of the market has been punctuated by recurring oil price shocks. Chapters examine the evolution of the international oil market and investigate how, and to what effect, the process of financialisation has transformed the structure and dynamics of the global oil market from 1980 to the present day. In doing so, the book suggests that the process of financialisation is both the cause and the proof of a profound change in the structure of the global oil market, that has turned the triangle of producers, consumers, and mediators that characterised the oil market until the 1980s into a four-tier structure through the addition of financial actors. This book suggests that price volatility and speculation in the oil market originate from a decades-long process of financialisation. The author contradicts mainstream critical accounts of the market that typically invoke the notion of a global oil shortage and so-called 'peak oil' arguments. Instead, he argues that the development of the market has been punctuated by recurring oil price shocks. Chapters examine the evolution of the international oil market and investigate how the process of financialisation has transformed the structure and dynamics of the global oil market from 1970 to the present. The book suggests that the financialisation process is both the cause and the proof of a profound change in the structure of the global oil market that has turned the triangle of producers, consumers, and mediators into a four-tier structure through the addition of financial actors. Angelos Gkanoutas-Leventis is a political economist with commercial experience working for national and international oil companies. He is very active in the development of the hydrocarbon industry in the South East Mediterranean, having founded the Greek Energy Forum. He is also a member of the City Political Economy Research Centre (CITYPERC). Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-9 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 The History of the Oil Market until the 1980s....Pages 13-22 The Many Faces of Financialisation....Pages 23-37 Finance and the Oil Market: Introducing a Comprehensive Approach to Analysing the Financialisation Process....Pages 39-62 Front Matter....Pages 63-63 Oil Products and Oil-Based Financial Products....Pages 65-68 Oil Shocks as Barometers of the Financialisation Process....Pages 69-75 The Three Phases of Oil Financialisation: Early Financialisation (1980–1999)....Pages 77-83 The Three Phases of Oil Financialisation: Low Financialisation (1999–2002)....Pages 85-91 The Three Phases of Oil Financialisation: Advanced Financialisation (2002–2015)....Pages 93-105 Front Matter....Pages 107-107 Financialisation of the Oil Market: The Four-Actor Structure....Pages 109-137 Epilogue....Pages 139-149 Back Matter....Pages 151-157 Part I. Conceptualising Financialisation -- The History Of The Oil Market Until The 1980s -- The Many Faces Of Financialisation -- Finance And The Oil Market: Introducing A Comprehensive Approach To Analysing The Financialisation Process -- Part Ii. The Three Phases Of Oil Financialisation. Oil Products And Oil-based Financial Products -- Oil Shocks As Barometers Of The Financialisation Process -- The Three Phases Of Oil Financialisation: Early Financialisation (1980-1999) -- The Three Phases Of Oil Financialisation: Low Financialisation (1999-2002) -- The Three Phases Of Oil Financialisation: Advanced Financialisation (2002-2015) -- Part Iii. Financialisation Of Oil Market And Evolution Of Oil Market's Actor Structure. Financialisation Of The Oil Market: The Four-actor Structure -- Epilogue. Angelos Gkanoutas-leventis. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.