Contact Us Subscriber Access. OPIS Glossary of Terms This helpful OPIS glossary can assist you in better understanding industry terms. This time for price changes differs from the standard Prices are available to OPIS subscribers once the change is confirmed and shortly after the price change becomes effective, based upon local terminal times. Abandonment Rule Order - A FERC rule that allows producers and their pipeline purchasers with pre-granted "blanket" authority to abandon sales when the contract has expired or has been mutually renegotiated.

It also allows the abandonment of an expired or renegotiated contract between one pipeline and another. Account Executive - An agent or broker representing a commission house, who generally takes and manages commodities futures and options orders, and often offers advice to trading clients.

Ad Valorem Tax - A charge levied on persons or organizations based on the value of a transaction. It is normally a given percentage of the price at the retail or manufacturing stage and is a common form of sales tax; e. Affiliated Marketer - A marketing company that buys and resells gas and is owned either by an interstate pipeline, a local distribution company or a corporation that also owns either an interstate pipeline subsidiary or a local distribution company.

Alcohol and Alcohol Blends - Family name of a group of organic chemical compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Examples are methanol, ethanol and tertiary butyl alcohol.

Alcohol and alcohol blends are added to gasoline in order to make it burn cleaner and boost octane. Alkylate Alkylation - A refining operation that takes low value derivatives from the cat cracking and other processes and unites them in the presence of an acid catalyst to produce a very high octane, low vapor pressure gasoline blending component.

Alkylation Unit - An oil refining unit in which propylene or butylene reacts with iso-butylene to yield a high octane gasoline blending component called alkylate.

Alkylate helps improve the environmental qualities of gasoline — low vapor pressure, zero sulfur content, zero olefin content, zero benzene and a high octane number. Allocation Method - The method of limiting the volume of products that can be purchased from a supplier for a variety of reasons such as natural disasters, loss of delivery infrastructure or similar supply disruption.

Allowance for Funds Used During Construction AFUDC - A component of construction costs representing the net cost of borrowed funds and a reasonable rate on other funds used during the period of construction. AFUDC is capitalized until the project is placed in operation by concurrent credits to the income statement and charges to utility plant, based generally on the amount expended to date on the particular project.

Allowed Rate of Return - The rate of return that a regulatory commission allows on a rate base in establishing just and reasonable rates for a utility. It is usually based on the composite cost of financing rate base from debt, preferred stock, and common equity. Alternate Delivery Procedures ADP - A provision of many energy futures contracts that allows for both sides of the futures market to make deliveries under terms and conditions which differ markedly from those described by the strict delivery rules.

ADP's always occur following the expiration of contracts for the spot month, after deliveries have been matched. American Gas Association AGA - An industry trade group representing natural gas utility companies. American National Standards Institute ANSI - The coordinating organization for America's federated national standards system. The ANSI federation consists of nine hundred companies, large and small, and some two hundred trade, technical, professional, labor, and consumer organizations.

American Petroleum Institute API - A trade association comprised of larger, integrated oil companies that works for the common goals of the oil industry. American Society of Testing Materials ASTM - Grade and quality specifications for petroleum products are determined by ASTM test methods. Annual Quantity Entitlement AQE - The quantity of gas a buyer or shipper has nominated to receive on an annual basis from a pipeline.

Any Current Month - OPIS prices labeled as "any current month" represent transactions for product that buyer and seller agree will be delivered at any time during the current calendar month. Any Delivery Any - Spot market terminology for deliveries that can be made at any time during the month at the seller's discretion.

Spot market prices will often be tied to the delivery stipulations termed prompt, outer month, or any month. API Gravity - Industry scale expressing the gravity or density of liquid petroleum products. The measuring scale is calibrated in terms of degrees API; it may be calculated in terms of the following formula: The higher the API gravity, the lighter the compound.

Light crudes generally exceed 38 degrees API and heavy crudes are commonly labeled as all crudes with an API gravity of 22 degrees or below. Intermediate crudes fall in the range of 22 degrees to 38 degrees API gravity. Light crudes yield more gasoline. API Inventory Figures - A widely monitored body of data in the petroleum industry. This report compiles changes in domestic petroleum production, imports, refining, capacity and product movements into and out of primary storage. Traders use this information to access supply and demand on a weekto- week basis.

These figures are usually released Tuesday afternoons. The release of these reports is often a catalyst for movement on the futures market. Arbitrage - The buying, selling, and exchange of petroleum products or crude oil in different markets with the express design to take advantage of location, product, and timing differentials. Traders looking to move U. Aromatics - Hydrocarbons characterized by their uniform carbon ring structure and their often pleasant aroma.

Commercial petroleum aromatics are benzene, toluene, and xylene. These three are often referred to by the acronym BTX. These chemicals are used as high octane components in gasoline. Aromatics have been judged to be undesirable in some finished motor fuels with various state and federal regulations geared toward reducing their levels. CARB diesel fuel in the state of California mandates a low aromatics composition. As Billed Rates - A policy requiring pipelines to flow through gas costs to their customers in the same manner as they are billed to the pipeline.

Asphalt - A dark-brown-to-black cement-like material containing bitumens as the predominant constituent obtained by petroleum processing; used primarily for road construction. It includes crude asphalt as well as the following finished products: The conversion factor for asphalt is 5. ASTM American Society of Testing Materials - Grade and quality specifications for petroleum products are determined by ASTM test methods.

Atmospheric Crude Oil Distillation - The refining process of separating crude oil components at atmospheric pressure by heating to temperatures of about degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Fahrenheit depending on the nature of the crude oil and desired products and subsequent condensing of the fractions by cooling. Gives the broker the discretion to use his expertise to execute the contract, regardless of where the market moves, between when the order is given and execution is made.

At the Money Option - Refers to the state which may briefly exist when the options strike price and the futures price intersect. Aviation Gasoline Finished - A complex mixture of relatively volatile hydrocarbons with or without small quantities of additives, blended to form a fuel suitable for use in aviation reciprocating engines.

Fuel specifications are provided in ASTM Specification D and Military Specification MIL-G Data on blending components are not counted in data on finished aviation gasoline. Generally a high octane gasoline. Aviation Gasoline Blending Components - Naphthas which will be used for blending or compounding into finished aviation gasoline e.

Excludes oxygenates alcohols, ethersbutanes, and pentanes. Oxygenates are reported as other hydrocarbons, hydrogen, and oxygenates. Automated Meter Reading AMR - "Real-time" monitoring of natural gas quantities and characteristics as it passes through a specific location.

This is usually accomplished through the use of radio or telephone technologies. Backhaul - A transaction that results in the transportation of gas in a direction opposite of the aggregate physical flow of gas in the pipeline.

This is typically achieved when the transporting pipeline redelivers gas at a point s upstream from the point s of receipt. A backhaul condition will exist as long as the aggregate backhaul transactions total less than the aggregate forward haul transactions. A backhaul transaction can result in a delivery by non-delivery or cut back reduction of physical flow at a delivery point. For refined oil products, a backhaul is simply the delivery of one product by tank truck, barge, or rail and the use of the vessel to transport back backhaul another product.

Backwardation - Term that describes a market which features higher prices for prompt or near-term delivery than for forward or outer month s material. This scenario offers no incentive to store barrels. Balancing - The act of making receipts and deliveries of gas into an interstate gas pipeline or a local distribution company's system equal with withdrawals from that pipeline or system. Balancing may be accomplished daily, monthly or seasonally, with fees or penalties generally assessed for excessive imbalances.

The purpose of balancing requirements is to prevent a shipper from tying up storage and line pack with excess deliveries of transportation gas, or from depleting storage and line pack by taking more gas off the system than it delivers, both of which disrupt other sales and transportation services. Balancing Agreement - A contractual agreement between two or more legal entities to account for differences between chart measured quantities and the total confirmed nominated quantities at a point.

Balancing Tolerance - The amount of imbalance allowed by a utility which is not subject to a penalty charge. The imbalance tolerance is usually stated in a range expressed in percentage terms. Barrel - Term used as the standard measurement of volume for crude oil and large quantities of refined products in the petroleum industry. A unit of volume equal to 42 U. Barrels Per Calendar Day - The amount of input that a distillation facility can process under usual operating conditions.

The amount is expressed in terms of capacity during a hour period and reduces the maximum processing capability of all units at the facility under continuous operation see barrels per stream day to account for the following limitations that may delay, interrupt, or slow down production: No reduction in barrels per calendar day calculations are made when a planned distribution of intermediate streams through other downstream facilities is part of a refinery's normal operation; the types and grades of inputs to be processed; the types and grades of products expected to be manufactured; the environmental constraints associated with refinery operations; the reduction of capacity for scheduled downtime due to such conditions as routine inspection, maintenance, repairs, and turnaround; and the reduction of capacity for unscheduled downtime due to such conditions as mechanical problems, repairs, and slowdowns.

Barrels Per Stream Day - The maximum number of barrels of input that a distillation facility can process within a hour period when running at full capacity under optimal crude and product slate conditions with no allowance for downtime. Base Gas - Gas in a storage reservoir which provides the pressure necessary for designed withdrawals of working gas.

Also called cushion gas. Base Load - Market requirements that remain fairly constant over a period of time that usually are not temperature sensitive. Basis - The difference between the price of the actual commodity e. Basis can be calculated by subtracting the futures price from the cash price.

For example, if N. Also called basis differential. Basis Risk - Price exposure associated with variation in the relationship between a physical or cash price and the appropriate NYMEX reference. These risks may be associated with location, product specifications, and time variations. Benchmark Crude - A widely accepted grade of crude oil used as a standard in trading. Other grades would be traded at a price differential according to the quality differences.

Examples would be WTI, Brent, Dubai and Arab Light. Benzene C6H6 - An aromatic hydrocarbon present in small proportion in some crude oils and made commercially from petroleum by the catalytic reforming of naphthenes in petroleum naphtha.

Also made from coal in the manufacture of coke. Used as a solvent, in manufacturing detergents, synthetic fibers, and petrochemicals and as a component of high-octane gasoline. Bid and Ask - Prices offered to buy and sell, respectively, on spot market deals. An interested party can sell at the bid and buy at the asked price. Spot prices are not reported as a straight number, but rather, in terms of bid and ask. OPIS editors derive an appropriate price from those to report a value that's representative of that market.

Bid is what the buyer is willing to pay and ask is what the seller wants for the product. Biofuels - Any fuel derived by a variety of processes from an organic source that is renewable, i. Blanket Certificate - Certificate issued by FERC which authorizes open access transportation by interstate pipeline companies on behalf of others and certain services by local distribution companies and Hinshaw companies under blanket certificates of public convenience and necessity subject to certain conditions and reporting requirements.

Blending Plant - A facility which has no refining capability but is either capable of producing finished motor gasoline through mechanical blending or blends oxygenates with motor gasoline.

Often classified as to steam or hot water, low pressure or high pressure, capable of burning one fuel or a number of fuels.

Boiler Efficiency - The ratio of the useful heat output to the heat input multiplied by and expressed as a percent. Boiler Rating - The rating of a steam boiler expressed as the total heat transferred by the heating surfaces in Btu per hour. Sometimes also expressed in horsepower or pounds of steam per hour. Bonded Petroleum Imports - Petroleum imported and entered into Customs bonded storage.

These imports are not included in the import statistics until they are: Bonded fuel is typically exempt from import duties or fees. Bottoms - The heaviest components of petroleum product left in the refining process after the light ends have been removed. These products include asphalt, coke and residuals. Branded - Distinction of product that is sold under a trademark owned by a refiner or reseller in some instances and usually affiliated with integrated or major oil firms.

Branded product often carries a premium to unbranded product, since it can be sold under a branded flag. Branded gasoline can be sold as unbranded product, but the reverse is not true. Branded markers are most often proprietary additive packages to improve the quality and performance of a product. Branded Average - An average of all branded suppliers, denoted with a b in the OPIS rack display.

Calculated on a gross or net price basis. Brent - Blend of crude oil from a critical group of North Sea fields, Brent is the standard contract for ICE crude oil futures trading, and the most commonly referenced crude in Europe.

It's described as the European counterpart of WTI, and its morning performance is often a harbinger for the NYMEX opening. London's IPE benchmark crude for international oil physical and futures trading. British Thermal Unit BTU - The measure used to gauge the heating quality of various fuels. It is the amount of heat needed to increase the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit from General conversion factors are: Broker - Anyone who executes futures or options contracts in exchange for a commission fee.

The term can apply to account executives who take phone orders and pass the execution on to the floor; the term also applies to floor brokers on the NYMEX who actually execute the orders in the pit. Btu, Dry - The heating value contained in a cubic foot of natural gas measured and calculated free of moisture content.

Contractually, dry may be defined as less than or equal to 7 pounds of water per Mcf. Btu, Saturated or Wet - The number of Btus contained in a cubic foot of natural gas fully saturated with water under actual delivery pressure, temperature and gravity conditions. BTX - The acronym for the commercial petroleum aromatics benzene, toluene, and xylenes.

See individual categories for definitions. Bulk Station - A facility used in the storage or marketing of petroleum products which has a total bulk storage of less than 50, barrels and receives product by tank car, or truck. Butane C4H10 - A normally gaseous straight-chain or branch-chain hydrocarbon extracted from natural gas or refinery gas streams. It includes normal butane and refinery-grade butane and is designated in ASTM specification D and Gas Processors Association specifications for commercial butane.

Buy-out Costs buy-down costs - Payments made by pipelines to producers to extinguish buy-out outstanding take-or-pay liabilities under existing contracts, or to reform buy-down the contracts. Buyer's Right of First Refusal - In negotiating situations where the seller of gas has the right to solicit third-party bids for his gas, a right of first refusal provision gives the buyer of the gas the option of meeting the third party bid price and continuing the contract on such terms.

By-pass - An auxiliary piping arrangement, generally to carry gas around specific equipment or an integral section of a piping system.

A by-pass is usually installed to permit passage through the line while adjustments or repairs are made on the section which is by-passed. Also used to describe the circumvention of a local distribution company's distribution system to supply gas to a specific customer.

C-store - Short for convenience store, but also applying to retail gasoline outlets which sell convenience goods such as milk, cigarettes, soft drinks and bread. Call Option - Also referred to simply as a "call. Cap - Risk management program which, usually in exchange for an up front premium, offers a price ceiling for various size purchases of fuel.

Caps are most commonly offered by suppliers who utilize petroleum futures options. Captive Refinery Oxygenate Plants - Oxygenate production facilities located within or adjacent to a refinery complex. CARB Diesel - Term which refers to the diesel standard mandated for sale by the California Air Resources Board. It includes tough standards for sulfur and for very low aromatics. Carbon Intensity CI - The amount of carbon by weight emitted per unit of energy consumed.

A common measure of carbon intensity is weight of carbon per British thermal unit Btu of energy. When there is only one fossil fuel under consideration, the carbon intensity and the emissions coefficient are identical.

When there are several fuels, carbon intensity is based on their combined emissions coefficients weighted by their energy consumption levels. Carrying Charge - The aggregate cost of storing a particular commodity, including, but not limited to, storage fees, cost of money, insurance, etc. Heating oil futures contracts often reflect carrying charges in the fall, leading forward months to trade at a premium to near-term positions.

Cash Market Also Spot Market - High volume 25, tobbl contractual agreements between oil companies dictating delivery of petroleum products or crude oil in the near future for an established sales price.

Since this market reacts quickly, and is an alternative to wholesale sales, it provides a good indication of the direction of wholesale price trends. Catalytic Cracking - The refining process of breaking down via heat and pressure the larger, heavier and more complex hydrocarbon molecules into simpler and lighter molecules, primarily gasoline. Catalytic cracking is accomplished by the use of a catalytic agent and is an effective process for increasing the yield of gasoline from crude oil.

The process uses one or more catalysts, depending upon product output, and can handle high sulfur feedstocks without prior desulfurization. Catalytic Hydrotreating - A refining process for treating petroleum fractions from atmospheric or vacuum distillation units e. Hydrotreating includes desulfurization, removal of substances e. Catalytic Reforming - A refining process using controlled heat and pressure with catalysts to rearrange certain hydrocarbon molecules, thereby converting paraffinic and naphthenic type hydrocarbons e.

Catalytic reforming is reported in two categories. CBOB Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending - Conventional gasoline blendstock intended for blending with oxygenates downstream of the refinery where it was produced. CBOB must become conventional gasoline after blending with oxygenates. Motor gasoline blending components that require blending other than with oxygenates to become finished conventional gasoline are reported as All Other Motor Gasoline Blending Components.

Excludes reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending RBOB. Cetane - A measure of the ignition quality of a diesel fuel. Regular diesel generally has a cetane number of while most premium cetanes have numbers between Chain Marketer - An independent marketer who retails gasoline through a chain of private branded gasoline or motor fuel outlets that are staffed with their own workers company-ops.

Charge Capacity - The input feed capacity of the refinery processing facilities. Clearing Member - Term which applies to a member or a member firm of the NYMEX who has met the capital requirements to become a member of the clearing house and can accept and manage trades executed on the floor. All trades have to eventually go through a clearing member, and it is the member's ultimate responsibility to guarantee performance.

Close - The short period at the end of a futures trading session each day at which the closing price range is established. COFC Container On Rail Flat Car - A form of intermodal movement of freight.

Coker - An oil refining unit in which heavy feed such as flasher bottoms, cycle oil from a fluid catalytic cracker, or thermal cracked gas oil is subjected to high temperatures. This causes the feed to crack, creating light oils. Coke — solid, densely packed carbons — builds up in the reactors of the unit and periodically needs to be removed. Collar - Term which refers to a futures or derivatives program where the buyer locks in a price ceiling, but also a price floor.

Combination Vehicle - An equipment configuration which includes a separate power unit tractor and at least one trailer. Commercials - Oil companies, as opposed to speculators trading typically in a futures environment.

Commercial entities typically have a stake in the supply chain as a physical producer of oil or a physical consumer of petroleum products. Commercial Trailer - A trailer used to handle freight in the transportation of goods for others; excludes house trailers, light farm trailers and car trailers.

Commingling - Term which generally applies to the mixing of two petroleum products with similar specifications. Most branded gasoline firms require that their product not be commingled to preserve the integrity of the brand.

Commission House - Term for the entities which buy and sell actual futures contracts for customers in exchange for a commission; also known in the trade as a futures commission merchant or FCM. Commodity Pool Operator CPO - Term which applies to a group which pools money to trade commodities; the commodities version of a mutual fund.

Common Carrier - A pipeline or transport company which has government authority to move product for hire, operating like a public utility with standard rates for various shipments. Condensate - A naturally occurring gaseous hydrocarbon that liquefies when cooled to surface temperature.

Condensate is considered to be a part of crude oil production. This definition is contested by some OPEC members who want to produce large quantities of this product outside official OPEC quotas.

Congested Market - A period of repetitious and limited price fluctuations within a tight trading range. Contango - Term that describes a market which features higher prices for more distant delivery. Contango market typically suggests cheaper prices in the near-term because of oversupply or other signs of market weakness.

Conversion Refining Capacity - The ability to perform those processes in gasoline production that adds octane. This process is considered more complex than basic distillation. Correlation Coefficient - A statistical factor measuring how well any two markets i. A correlation coefficient of 1 would indicate a perfect 1-to-1 relationship. Cost-Plus - A pricing mechanism, commonly used by transportation firms. Takes an OPIS average, adds in a specific "cost" i. Cost of Carry - The cost to physically store crude or petroleum products, including storage fees, insurance, inspections and capital costs.

Crack Spread - Term applied to the differential between what a typical refined products mix would yield, and the value of crude. The common crack spread features a per bbl reference derived of The resulting average is compared to the WTI number for the resulting "crack spread. Crude Distillation Unit - An oil refinery unit that separates crude oil into different products according to their individual boiling point ranges.

Distillation allows for the materials to be separated without being subjected to conditions that would cause cracking or decomposition. Crude Oil - The primary feedstock used to make gasoline, diesel, jet, residual fuel and other finished petroleum products.

A mixture of hydrocarbons that exists in liquid phase in natural underground reservoirs and remains liquid at atmospheric pressure after passing through surface separating facilities. Depending upon the characteristics of the crude stream, it may also include:. Liquids produced at natural gas processing plants are excluded. Crude oil is refined to produce a wide array of petroleum products, including heating oils; gasoline, diesel and jet fuels; lubricants; asphalt; ethane, propane, and butane; and many other products used for their energy or chemical content.

Crude Oil, Refinery Receipts - Receipts of domestic and foreign crude oil at a refinery. Includes all crude oil in transit except crude oil in transit by pipeline.

Foreign crude oil is reported as a receipt only after entry through customs. Crude oil of foreign origin held in bonded storage is excluded. Crude Oil Losses - Represents the volume of crude oil reported by petroleum refineries as being lost in their operations.

These losses are due to spills, contamination, fires, etc. Crude Oil Production - The volume of crude oil produced from oil reservoirs during given periods of time. The amount of such production for a given period is measured as volumes delivered from lease storage tanks i. Crude Oil Qualities - Refers to two properties of crude oil, the sulfur content and API gravity, which affect processing complexity and product characteristics. Crude Unit - The initial refining operation in which the basic cuts of fuel are distilled out of crude oil.

Current Delivery Month - The futures contract date closest to expiration. Contracts are usually referred to by month i. September Crude refers to crude contracts that are to be delivered in September. Daily Closing Average - An average of all rack suppliers without those denoted as out of productcalculated for either gross or net. Calculated no later than 5: EST daily and published with OPIS rack displays.

Daily Contract Average - An average of all rack suppliers with the exception of those denoted as out of productcalculated either as a gross or net average. Calculated at approximately ET daily to allow time for our pricing specialists to do a validation check on the data. Daily contract average is frozen for 24 hours, generally from Branded and unbranded averages are also available.

Day Order - Type of order to purchase or sell a futures contract where the order is valid for one day unless you specify otherwise. Day Trade - The purchase and sale of a futures or option contract during the same business day. Much of the activity of locals is focused around day trading. Dealer Tankwagon DTW - The price that the dealer pays to its supplier, usually a jobber or refiner. Dealer prices are usually higher than rack prices because they include transportation costs.

A tankwagon is the actual vehicle that the supplier or jobber uses to transport product to the dealer. Deferred Futures - Contracts that will mature beyond the current delivery month. Also called distant or back contracts. Degree Days - The number of degrees per day that the daily average temperature is above 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

The daily average temperature is the mean of the maximum and minimum temperature for a hour period. Delayed Coking - A process by which heavier crude oil fractions can be thermally decomposed under conditions of elevated temperatures and pressure to produce a mixture of lighter oils and petroleum coke.

The light oils can be processed further in other refinery units to meet product specifications. The coke can be used either as a fuel or in other applications such as the manufacturing of steel or aluminum. Delivered Spot - Detailed estimates of rack replacement costs using spot prices and including pipeline tariff costs, shrinkage fees, proprietary additive fees plus other miscellaneous costs. Delivery - The satisfaction of a futures contract by the tendering of the actual physical commodity.

Department of Energy DOE - The U. Derivatives - General term used to describe the class of futures-related instruments offered by oil companies, banks, large brokerage houses, etc. These programs are derived from general futures contracts, but often are tailor-made to individual market and company needs. These can be "wet," featuring actual physical purchases, or "paper," where only money exchanges hands. Desulfurization - The removal of sulfur, as from molten metals, petroleum oil, or flue gases.

Petroleum desulfurization is a process that removes sulfur and its compounds from various streams during the refining process. Desulfurization processes vary based on the type of stream treated e. See also Catalytic Hydrotreating. Diesel Exhaust Fluid DEF - A urea solution used in Selective Catalytic Reduction SCR to lower nitrogen oxide NOx concentration in the exhaust emissions from diesel engines. Disposition - The components of petroleum disposition are stock change, crude oil losses, refinery inputs, exports, and products supplied for domestic consumption.

Distillate - Includes No. These are light fuel oils used for home heating, as a diesel engine fuel including railroad engine fuel and fuel for agricultural machineryand for electric power generation. Distillation - The most basic refining operation that heats the crude oil and condenses the cuts in a fractionating column in order to separate the various petroleum products for further processing.

Downstream - Term applying to functions or facilities closer to the end user. Refining, marketing and transportation are generally downstream processes in the oil patch while exploration and production are upstream.

However, the term also applies to any function or facility below the point of reference: Dual Trading - The practice by which a floor broker can trade for both his own account and execute orders for off-the-floor customers. Some contend that dual trading leads to the illegal practice of front-running, where unscrupulous individuals can trade for their account ahead of a large order from another customer.

Electronic Trading - A futures trading system that automatically matches buyers and sellers through a computerized system, as opposed to the current open outcry system. End User - The ultimate consumer of petroleum products; most commonly used in connection with large industrial or utility consumers. Ending Stocks - Primary stocks of crude oil and petroleum products held in storage as of 12 midnight on the last day of the month. Primary stocks include crude oil or petroleum products held in storage at or in leases, refineries, natural gas processing plants, pipelines, tank farms, and bulk terminals that can store at least 50, barrels of petroleum products or that can can i buy australian stock on etrade petroleum products by tanker, barge, or pipeline.

Crude oil that is in-transit by water from Alaska, or that is stored on Federal leases or in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is included. Primary stocks exclude stocks of foreign origin that are held in bonded warehouse storage.

Energy Information Administration EIA - A division of the Department of Energy that compiles data on petroleum supply and demand on a weekly and monthly basis. These figures are not as timely as API statistics, but are considered more accurate.

ETBE Coles trading on australia day tertiary butyl ether CH3 3COC2H5 - An oxygenate blend stock formed by the catalytic etherfication of isobutylene with ethanol.

Ethane C2H6 - A normally gaseous straight-chain hydrocarbon. It is a colorless paraffinic gas that boils at a temperature of It is extracted from natural gas and refinery gas streams. Ethanol - An alcohol which is most often derived from corn. Ethanol is designed to be blended with gasoline to produce a cleaner burning fuel, and is an accepted oxygenate component for the oxygenated seasons mandated by the EPA. Ether - A generic term applied to a group of organic chemical compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, characterized by an oxygen atom attached to two carbon atoms e.

Ethylene C2H4 - An olefinic hydrocarbon recovered from refinery processes or petrochemical processes. Ethylene is used as a petrochemical feedstock for numerous chemical applications and the production of consumer goods.

Exchange of Futures for Physicals EFP - Another means of making delivery in the futures market. EFP's would allow for a delivery of physical product that doesn't necessarily conform to NYMEX specifications delivery at say, Baltimore.

How to hack the stock market john bell free download can vary across a broad spectrum including location, time, and product specifications. Exports - Shipments of crude oil and petroleum products from the 50 States and the District of Columbia to foreign countries, Forex platte direktdruck Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other U.

Feedstock - Any of the raw or semifinished materials which move to the various units of a refinery or petrochemical plant. Crude is a feedstock, but the term is mainly used to describe raw materials after the distillation process which in turn go on to more sophisticated units at the refinery. VGO, catfeed, naphtha, condensate and straight run residual fuel are commonly referred to as feedstocks. Flexicoking - A thermal cracking process which converts heavy hydrocarbons such as crude oil, tar sands bitumen, and distillation residues into light hydrocarbons.

Feedstocks can be any pumpable hydrocarbons including those containing high concentrations of sulfur and metals. Floor Broker - An exchange member who executes orders for futures contracts in the trading pit. Floor Trader - Trader in a futures pit that executes trades solely for his own account.

Fluid Catalytic Cracker FCC - An oil refining unit in which a catalyst fmla stock options with a vacuum gas oil range feedstock at high temperatures to cause a reaction. This is the most popular design for catalytic cracking in a refinery, and it produces mostly gasoline and some distillate products.

Fluid Coking - A thermal cracking process utilizing the fluidized-solids technique to remove carbon coke for continuous conversion of heavy, lowgrade oils into lighter products. FOB - Terms of a transaction where the seller agrees to make the product available within an agreed-upon time period at a given location. Any subsequent costs are the responsibility of the buyer. Force Majeure - The legal cancellation of a delivery obligation due to the occurrence of natural acts beyond the direct control of the seller i.

Forward Market - Cash market non-exchange commitment to delivery of petroleum products or crude at a set price for futur e delivery i. Fractionation Plant - A processing plant that separates hydrocarbon mixtures based on the vapor pressures of its component molecules, either by adding heat distillation or removing heat condensation ; products such as propane, butane, and ethane are produced in this process. Fractions - The different cuts of petroleum products that dairy shorthorn cattle for sale uk off a distillation column contingent on their volatility or boiling range.

Fractions are essentially crude cut points at different boiling ranges that produce the various finished products. Fresh Feed Input - Represents input of material crude oil, unfinished oils, natural gas liquids, other hydrocarbons and oxygenates or finished products to processing units at a refinery that is being processed input into a particular unit for the first time.

Front-running - Illegal practice where a floor broker executes an order for his own account before executing an order for a customer, with the intent of getting ahead of a market move precipitated by the customer's order. A broker who went long 10 contracts of December crude just before he executed a buy order for what's better to make money bank cd or mutual fund would be "front-running.

Fuel Ethanol C2H5OH - An anhydrous denatured aliphatic alcohol intended for gasoline blending as described in oxygenates definition. Fuels Solvent Deasphalting - A refining process for removing asphalt compounds from petroleum fractions, such as reduced crude oil.

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The recovered stream from this process is used to produce fuel products. Fundamentals - Pricing analysis based on supply and demand factors for any particular market.

Fundamental Analysis - Analysis derived from actual supply and demand factors such as inventories, refinery operations, physical buying patterns, or disruptions in the supply and distribution chain. Contrasts with technical analysis.

Fungible - Term which refers southern company ex dividend date the likeness or least interchangeability of a petroleum product. Material shipped on a pipeline must be fungible, i.

The less fungible the product, the less likely it is to succeed in the futures arena and the more problem it is likely to create in the distribution process. Various elements of the Clean Air Act have made several petroleum products less fungible. Furnace Oil - Canadian term used to describe high-sulfur No. Furnace oil in Canada is the equivalent of our high-sulfur, off-road, or home heating oil. Futures - A standardized contract for the future purchase or sale of a commodity on a formalized exchange.

Futures Margin - A deposit required of futures participants that guarantees assurance of performance. Funds are on hand to assure where better to trade binary options the buyer or seller makes good on any losses that might accrue on his position.

Margin deposits are a sort of futures performance bond. Data on gasohol that has at least 2. Gasoline - Unlimited money gran turismo 5 ps3 complex mixture of relatively legitimate work from home jobs charlotte nc hydrocarbons with or without small quantities of additives, blended to form a fuel suitable for use in sparkignition engines.

Motor gasoline, as defined in ASTM Specification Dis characterized as having a boiling range of to degrees F at the percent recovery point to degrees F at the percent recovery point. Gasoline Blending Components - Naphthas which will be used for blending or compounding forex breakout system ea finished aviation or motor gasoline e.

Excludes oxygenates alcohols, ethersbutane, and natural gasoline. Globex - A global automated trade execution system see beginner forex guide trade trading created by the Chicago Merc and Reuters.

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The New York Mercantile Exchange approved the implementation of this system to supplement pit trading after hours. Gross Average - An average of all suppliers, calculated without the deduction of any pre-payment terms.

Gross Input To Atmospheric Crude Oil Distillation Units - Total input to atmospheric crude oil distillation units.

Includes all crude oil, lease condensate, natural gas plant forex trading leverage margin, unfinished oils, liquefied refinery gases, slop oils, and other liquid hydrocarbons produced from tar sands, gilsonite, and oil shale. Group 3 Spot Market - Spot market vernacular for a Midwest delivery.

It specifically entails delivery of finished products along key pipelines serving the Midwest markets from the Gulf Coast through the Plains States of Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota. Group 3 is the oil refining and distribution system serving these markets.

GTAB gasoline treated as blendstock - Non-certified foreign refinery gasoline classified by an importer as blendstock to be either bl ended or reclassified with respect to reformulated or conventional gasoline.

GTAB is classified as either reformulated or conventional based on emissions performance and the intended end use.

Gulf Coast Spot Market - Large volume transactions from 25, barrels to full tankers of petroleum products bought or sold for a stipulated delivery in the near future. Although this market might entail several pipeline or waterborne transaction points in the Texas and Louisiana area, unless specified otherwise, it reflects the delivery of the product the same month at a Pasadena, Texas, origin on Colonial Pipeline.

Gulf Coast barrels can also move into the Midwest via the TEPPCO Enterprise Pipeline. Heating Oil - A distillate used for home or commercial heating. Widely used as a synonym for No.

Heavy Gasoil - Petroleum distillates with an approximate boiling range from degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Fahrenheit. Hedger - Oil industry participant who takes a futures, options, or derivatives position opposite that of a position held in the cash or contract market.

A refiner who sells forward gasoline contracts against his future production is hedging. A hedger is looking to reduce risk in exchange for a guaranteed margin, but he may forego larger profits in reducing his exposure.

Hedging - The initiation of an opposite futures position to protect a cash market position from an adverse price vantage fx forex broker reviews. Hedging is essentially the act of managing price risks in the physical markets using oil futures pricing instruments.

Historical Volatility - The annualized standard deviation of percent variation in futures prices over a specific period of time; an indicator of past v olatility in the marketplace. Hydrogen - The lightest of all gases, occurring chiefly in combination with oxygen in water; exists also in acids, bases, alcohols, petroleum, and other hydrocarbons.

Hydrocracker - An oil refining process in which light or heavy gas oils or residue hydrocarbons are mixed with hydrogen under conditions of high temperature and pressure in the presence of a catalyst, yielding light oils.

Hydrocracking - A refining process for converting middle distillates to high octane gasoline, jet fuel, or high grade diesel through the introduction of a hydrogen catalyst under very high pressure. Hydrotreater - A refining unit whereby processed material from the crude units are treated in the presence of catalysts and hydrogen, often to remove sulfur and other unwanted substances. The hydrotreater is often the critical unit for producing jet fuel and low-sulfur diesel.

Idle Capacity - The determinants of stock market volatility and risk premia of operable capacity that is not in operation and not under active repair, but capable of being placed in operation within 30 days; and capacity not in operation but under active repair that can be completed within 90 days. Earn money from typing captcha Volatility - A measurement of the market's expected price range and variation for the underlying commodity futures based on market traded options premiums.

Differs from historical volatility that lists annualized standard deviation how to measure forex liquidity percent changes in futures prices over a specific period.

Imported Crude Oil Burned As Fuel - The amount of foreign crude oil burned as a fuel oil, usually as residual fuel oil, without being processed as such. Imported crude oil burned as fuel includes lease condensate and liquid hydrocarbons produced from tar sands, gilsonite, and oil shale. Imports - Receipts of crude oil and petroleum products into the 50 States and the District 5 point hedging spot forex with binary option trading Columbia from foreign countries, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other U.

Initial Margin - Funds required to establish a new position. Exchanges set minimums depending on volatility, market conditions, etc. Margins for a would-be speculator are much higher than for a bona fide hedger. Integrated Oil Company - A company involved in prosperity independent financial advisors and stockbrokers limited aspects of the petroleum business from wellhead crude production to retail sales of refined petroleum products.

Interface - A mixture of petroleum products occurring when batches of different products are shipped consecutively through a pipeline. Interface oil is re-refined into gasoline and diesel. Intermodal Transportation - Transportation movement involving more than one pips forex signals e.

International Energy Agency IEA - An agency in Paris, France, which tracks energy statistics and information on an international level. In the Money Option Calls - Refers to an option where the futures price has exceeded the strike price on which it is based.

Intrinsic Value - The amount by which an options contract is in the money. Introducing Broker IB - A firm that solely solicits or accepts orders for the purchase or sale of futures contracts or options.

Inverted Market inversion - Term that describes a rack market where unbranded prices move above branded prices due to a supply disruption or similar cause. International Petroleum Exchange IPE - Based in London, it is the European equivalent of the NYMEX. IPE operates an exchange which trades Brent and gasoil heating oil futures among other energy contracts. Isobutane C4H10 - A normally gaseous branch-chain hydrocarbon. It is extracted from natural gas or refinery gas streams.

Isobutylene C4H8 - An olefinic hydrocarbon recovered from refinery processes or petrochemical processes. Isohexane C6H14 - A saturated branch-chain hydrocarbon. It is a colorless liquid that boils at a temperature of Isomerization - A refining process which alters the fundamental arrangement of atoms in the molecule without adding or removing anything from the original material. Used to convert normal butane how does a binary broker make money isobutane C4an alkylation process feedstock, and normal pentane and hexane into forex breakout system ea C5 and isohexane C6high-octane gasoline components.

Jobber - Someone who purchases refined products at the wholesale level and then transfers or resells the product at the retail level. Kerosene - A light petroleum distillate that is used in space heaters, cook stoves, and water heaters and is suitable for use as a light source when burned in wickfed lamps.

Kerosene has a maximum currency exchange ottawa bank of canada temperature of degrees Fahrenheit at the percent recovery point, a final boiling point of degrees Fahrenheit, and a minimum flash point of degrees Fahrenheit.

See also Kerosene-Type Jet Fuel. Kerosene-Type Jet Fuel - A kerosene-based product having a maximum distillation temperature of degrees Fahrenheit at the percent recovery point and a final maximum boiling point of degrees Fahrenheit and meeting ASTM Specification D and Military Input jquery value default MIL-TP and MIL-T- D Grades JP-5 and JP It is used for commercial and military turbojet and turboprop aircraft engines.

Lease Condensate - A mixture consisting primarily of pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons which is recovered as a liquid from natural gas in lease separation facilities. This category excludes natural gas liquids, such as butane and propane, which are recovered at downstream natural gas processing plants or facilities. See Natural Gas Liquids. Light Gasoils - Liquid petroleum distillates heavier than naphtha, with an approximate boiling range from degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Fahrenheit.

Last Trading Day - The final trading session on a futures contact. Any contracts left open at the end must be settled by delivery. On the NYMEX, this falls on the last business day of the month for products and the third business day prior to the 25th on crude.

OPIS’s Methodology| OPIS | Oil Price Information Service

Lightering - The process of transferring oil cargo between vessels of largely different sizes and is undertaken as many port facilities cannot accept oceanfaring tankers of the size of oil transports. Limit Move - The maximum one-day price advance or decline permitted from forex trading system simple 5 minute scalping previous day's how much money does a respiratory therapist make in california price.

Not applicable to the current contract. If it's a buy order, it can't be executed higher than the limit listed e. If it's a sell order, it can't be executed lower than the limit. Liquified Petroleum Gases LPG - A group of hydrocarbon-based gases derived from crude oil refining or natural gas stream fractionation that are often liquefied, through pressurization, for ease of transport.

Uses of these fuels include home heating, industrial, automotive fuel, petrochemical feedstocks, and for drying purposes in farming. Liquefied Refinery Gases LRG - Liquefied petroleum gases fractionated from refinery or still gases.

Locals - Term which describes the floor traders who provide liquidity for NYMEX traders. Locals often are floor brokers who trade for their own account. Locals operate in the call forwarding not working lync electronic formats on the NYMEX and typically trade large volumes and cash in profits or losses after small changes in price.

Long - Having an outstanding position where one has bought a futures contract or a wet bbl. A speculative long would be hopeful of a market increase. A lot of length in the wet or futures market could be descriptive of a market where too many buyers are holding inventory. LP - A what does hawkish mean forex reference commonly applied to propane, or liquid propane, which is used as a home heating and cooking fuel, and as a petrochemical feedstock.

Lubricants - Substances used to reduce friction between bearing surfaces or as process materials either incorporated into other materials used as processing aids in the manufacture of other products, hotel opening hours anzac day qld used as carriers of other materials.

Petroleum lubricants may be produced either from distillates or residues. Lubricants include all grades of lubricating oils from spindle oil to cylinder oil and those used in greases. Margin - The funds deposited by a buyer or seller of a futures contract that ensure performance of the contract. It will be executed at the best possible price within the closing minutes of the market. Merchant Oxygenate Plants - Oxygenate production facilities that are not associated with a petroleum refinery. Production from these facilities is sold under contract or on the spot market to refiners or other gasoline blenders.

Methanol CH3OH -A light, volatile alcohol intended for gasoline blending as described in Oxygenate definition. Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether MTBE - An ether used in the blending of call of duty 4 modern warfare gameplay ps3 gasolines, affecting vapor pressure and octane level. Unlike ethanol, MTBE is fungible and will not separate out during shipment.

There is no domestic market for MTBE, so any production is exported. Midco Midcontinent - A spot market designation for product delivered in regions supplied by the Group 3 and Chicago spot markets. Middle East Economic Survey MEES - An influential Nicosia-based newsletter which is regarded as particularly close to Arabian Gulf producer politics and intentions.

Middle Distillates - A general classification of refined petroleum products that includes distillate fuel oil and kerosene, over-the-road diesel, and home heating oil. Miscellaneous Products - Includes all finished products not classified elsewhere e. Beginning with January data, naphtha-type jet fuel is included in Miscellaneous Products. Learning binary options is it legitimate Share - The percentage of total freight moved by a particular type of transportation.

Motor Gasoline Blending - Mechanical mixing of motor gasoline blending components, and oxygenates when required, to produce finished motor gasoline. Motor Gasoline Blending Components - Naphthas e.

These components include reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygenate blending RBOB learn sharp cash register manuals exclude oxygenates alcohols, ethersbutane, and pentanes. Oxygenates are reported as individual components and are included in the total for other hydrocarbons and cape town fish market east london specials. N-Grade - A Magellan Pipeline designation for clear regular unleaded gasoline.

Naked Option - Sale of earn money from home typing without investment in india option either a put or a call without ownership of the underlying futures contract.

Naphtha-Type Jet Fuel - A fuel in the heavy naphtha boiling range having an average gravity of It is used primarily for military turbojet and turboprop aircraft engines because it has a lower freeze point than other aviation fuels and meets engine requirements at high altitudes and speeds. National Futues Association NFA - Trade association which is responsible for promoting and monitoring rules of conduct, and which mediates disputes between customers and brokers.

One of the regulatory bodies which oversees futures trading. Nation's Freight Bill - The amount spent annually on freight transportation by the nation's shippers; also represents the total revenue of all carriers operating in the nation. Natural Gas - A naturally-occurring raw material often produced in conjunction with crude oil that is processed through a variety of facilities to yield NGLs.

It is a commercially acceptable product for industrial and residential consumption and is shipped via pipeline. Natural Gas Field Facility - A field facility designed to process natural gas produced from more than one lease for the purpose of recovering condensate from a stream of natural gas; however, some field facilities are designed to recover propane, normal butane, natural gasoline, etc. Natural Gas Liquids NGLs - Those hydrocarbons in natural gas that are separated from the gas as liquids through the process of absorption, condensation, adsorption, or other methods in gas processing or cycling plants.

Generally such liquids consist of propane and heavier hydrocarbons and are commonly referred to as lease condensate, natural gasoline, and liquefied petroleum gases. Natural gas liquids include natural gas plant liquids primarily ethane, propane, butane, and isobutane; see Natural Gas Plant Liquids and lease condensate primarily pentanes produced from natural gas at lease separators and field facilities; see Lease Condensate. Natural Gas Plant Liquids - Those hydrocarbons in natural gas that are separated as liquids at natural gas processing plants, fractionating and cycling plants, and, in some instances, field facilities.

Lease condensate is excluded. Products obtained include ethane; liquefied petroleum gases propane, butanes, propane-butane mixtures, ethane-propane mixtures ; isopentane; and other small quantities of finished products, such as motor gasoline, special naphthas, jet fuel, kerosene, and distillate fuel oil.

These facilities control the quality of the natural gas to be marketed. Cycling plants are classified as gas processing plants. Natural Gasoline and Isopentane - A mixture of mossberg 702 plinkster parts for sale, mostly pentanes and heavier, extracted from natural gas, that meets vapor pressure, end-point, and other specifications for natural gasoline set by the Gas Processors Association.

Net Average - An average of all rack suppliers, calculated with any prepayment discount reduced from the applicable suppliers. Net Receipts - The black scholes put option continuous dividend yield between total movements into and total movements out of each PADD by pipeline, tanker, and barge.

Net Profit Margin - A measure of profitability based on the ratio of net income to total operating revenues. Netbacks - The price a refiner receives for the sale of petroleum products after deducting the transportation or affiliated costs in shipping the product from its point of origin i.

Netback Differential - The difference between the spot and rack prices for refined petroleum products. Forex vs western union Pricing or Agreements - Contractual crude oil arrangements very prevalent during the mid's which set the sales price of crude oil on the value of the derivative petroleum products.

Nomination - The notification by the seller of a spot market obligation of the attempt to deliver the product to satisfy the commitment. Non-TET - Price designation which only applies to product traded in the Mont Belvieu Caverns facility that is a subsidiary of Enterprise Products Partners, LP.

NOPEC - A group of independent crude oil producing nations that are not members of OPEC, but have collectively restricted production levels in support of OPEC. Includes Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Robert borowski forex surfing, Angola, China and Colombia.

New York Mercantile Exchange NYMEX - Exchange where a number of commodities, including WTI crude, heating oil and unleaded gasoline are traded on a future basis. Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union OCAW - The principal labor group at U. Refinery strikes are generally called by this union or its affiliates. Octane - A measure of the performance quality of gasoline in terms of antiknock qualities.

The higher the octane number, the greater the antiknock qualities. Off-Road Diesel - Nothing more than high-sulfur No. This fuel can be used for off-road purposes such as powering diesel construction equipment. Offshore Block - Refers to a designated piece of property in a body of water for mineral exploration. The Gulf of Mexico has many areas that are divided up into blocks to be leased to companies for exploration. Open Interest - Figures published by the NYMEX which indicate the number of outstanding positions in a futures basic forex tutorial. An open interest number ofmeans that there are 50, long and 50, outstanding short positions.

A rise in open interest after a market rally is often indicative of new buying, whereas a fall would have been representative of short covering. Open Order - An order to buy or sell a futures contract or option which is good until it is cancelled.

Opening - The period at the beginning of a trading session as designated by the exchange. Open Outcry - A public auction form of futures trading where bids and offers are made directly between traders in an exchange pit. Operable Capacity - The amount of capacity that, at the beginning of the period, is in operation; not in operation and not under active repair, but capable of being placed in operation within 30 days; or not in operation but under active repair that can be completed within 90 days.

Operable capacity is the sum of the operating and idle capacity and is measured in barrels per calendar day or barrels per stream day. Operable Utilization Rate - Represents the utilization of the atmospheric crude oil distillation units.

The rate is calculated by dividing the gross input to these units by the operable refining capacity of the units.

Operating Expenses - The costs of handling traffic, including both direct costs driver wages and fuel and indirect costs computer expenses and advertisingbut excluding interest expenses. Operating Ratio - A measure of profitability based on operating expenses as a percentage of gross revenues. ETclosing daily averages 5: ETnewsletter and 5-day averages published in the weekly OPIS Newsletter. OPIS Calendar-Day Average - A snapshot of the average of all supplier postings in each OPIS rack market at The snapshot includes all price moves from The January 8th Calendar-Day Average encompasses all price moves that were made from ET on January 8th.

Hence, it is an average of all prices on that calendar crane forex rates uganda. OPIS Closing Average - A snapshot of the average of all supplier postings in each OPIS rack market at 5: The snapshot includes all price moves from 6: ET the prior day until the price file is frozen by 5: The January 8th Closing Average encompasses all price moves that were made hsbc stock market savings account 6: January 7th up until we freeze the prices no later than 5: It does not include any price moves made at or later than 6: OPIS Contract Average - A snapshot of the average of all supplier postings in each OPIS rack market at approximately ET the prior day up until the price file foreign exchange brokers in australia frozen at approximately The January 8th Contract Average encompasses all price moves that were made at 6: ET January 7th up until approximately OPIS High - The highest supplier price at that particular rack on that day.

Available in standard, newsletter, and terminal display. OPIS Last - The OPIS Last is a price indicator of where cash or spot market prices end for each full-day spot market trading session. It provides a numerical approximation of a refined products end-of-the day value.

OPIS Low - The lowest supplier price at that particular rack on that day. OPIS Newsletter Average - The published Thursday evening average except on holidays in the printed OPIS Newsletter. This average is ALWAYS gross. The OPIS Newsletter started in when the market moved only once a week. Since major fuel purchases are referenced to this published price, it is one of many benchmarks available from OPIS today. OPIS Rack Prices - A daily Mon-Satindependent, published survey of supplier prices without taxes, freight or superfund for gasoline and diesel fuel at over U.

OPIS Spot Mean - The OPIS Spot Mean represents the numerical mid-point of the OPIS Low and the OPIS High calculated using actual spot market deals confirmed by OPIS markets editors during the course of full-day trading.

OPIS Standard Display - Shows one price per product per supplier for all suppliers in that rack city. OPIS uses the primary terminal for suppliers with multiple terminals to crude oil options pricing formula skewing the OPIS average for benchmarking purposes. OPIS Terminal Display - Shows all terminals at a given location for every supplier by product. Includes terminal location and terminal owner. Option - A contract traded on a futures exchange giving the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy a call option or sell a put option a specific quantity of a commodity from the seller or writer of the option.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC - Countries which have organized for the purpose of negotiating with oil companies on matters of oil production, prices and future concession rights. Current members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. The Neutral Zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia is considered part of OPEC. Ecuador suspended its membership from December through October Prior to JanuaryGabon was a member of OPEC.

Indonesia suspended its membership effective January Other Hydrocarbons - Materials received by a refinery and consumed as a raw material. Includes hydrogen, coal tar derivatives, gilsonite, and natural gas received by the refinery for reforming into hydrogen. Natural gas to be used as fuel is excluded. Other Oxygenates - Other aliphatic alcohols and aliphatic ethers intended for motor gasoline blending e.

Out Month - OPIS prices labeled as out month represent transactions for product that buyer and seller agree will be delivered any time in the next calendar month. Out-Of-Product - OPIS marks out-of-product if a rack supplier's product is confirmed unavailable for more than 24 hours. Postings which meet this criteria will be designated out-of-product with an "o" next to the listing, and these numbers will not be part of the OPIS lows, highs or averages.

Out Of The Money Option - Refers to an option where the futures price is less than the strike price for the appropriate call, or higher than the strike price for puts. Over The Rack - Petroleum products sold at the wholesale level from primary storage. Refers to loading racks where tanker trucks fill up. See also Rack Market. Overbought - A trading term used to express the opinion that prices have escalated rapidly, and therefore are subject to a sell-off as positions are liquidated. Oxygenated Fuels - Non-hydrocarbon additives—including MTBE, ethanol and methanol—which boost octane and produce a cleaner combustion.

Oxygenated Gasoline - Finished motor gasoline, other than reformulated gasoline, having an oxygen content of 2. Oxygenates - Substances which, when added to gasoline, increase the amount of oxygen in that gasoline blend. Fuel ethanol, ethyl tertiary butyl ether ETBEand methanol are common oxygenates. Pentanes Plus - A mixture of hydrocarbons, mostly pentanes and heavier, extracted from natural gas. Includes isopentane, natural gasoline, and plant condensate.

Persian Gulf - The countries that comprise the Persian Gulf are Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Petrochemical Feedstocks - Chemical feedstocks derived from petroleum principally for the manufacture of chemicals, synthetic rubber, and a variety of plastics. Petroleum Administration For Defense Districts PADD - Five geographic areas into which the United States was divided by the Petroleum Administration for Defense for purposes of administration during federal price controls or oil allocation. Petrochemical - An intermediate product derived from crude and natural gas processing that is used in production of a wide range of products, including plastics.

Also the facility that processes these intermediate products. Petrochemical plants are often integrated with major refineries. Petroleum Coke - A residue high in carbon content and low in hydrogen that is the final product of thermal decomposition in the condensation process in cracking. This product is reported as marketable coke. The conversion is 5 barrels of 42 U. Coke from petroleum has a heating value of 6. Petroleum Products - Petroleum products are obtained from the processing of crude oil including lease condensatenatural gas, and other hydrocarbon compounds.

Petroleum products include unfinished oils, liquefied petroleum gases, pentanes plus, aviation gasoline, motor gasoline, naphtha-type jet fuel, kerosene-type jet fuel, kerosene, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, petrochemical feedstocks, special naphthas, lubricants, waxes, petroleum coke, asphalt, road oil, still gas, and miscellaneous products.

Piggyback - The transportation of highway trailers or removable trailer bodies on rail cars specifically equipped for the service. It is essentially a joint carrier movement in which the motor carrier forms a pickup and delivery operation to a rail terminal, as well as a delivery operation at the terminating rail head. Pipelines - A network that allows crude oil, refined products and gas liquids to move across the country, usually from either refineries to terminals or from coastal import locations to terminals and refineries further inland.

Pit Trading - Trading conducted within the normal hours of the NYMEX inside the open outcry pits. Pit hours are generally 9: ET for most contracts. With the advent of overnight or after hours trading on the ACCESS automated system, it has become necessary to identify pit trading.

Plant Condensate - One of the natural gas liquids, mostly pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons, recovered and separated as liquids at gas inlet separators or scrubbers in processing plants. Platform - A structure that draws fuel from an underground source. Usually referring to an offshore rig that also transmits fuel from that location via pipeline.

Position Limit - The maximum number of allowable open contracts for a single trader or a firm in a given futures contract. Primary Storage - Petroleum storage tanks at refineries, pipelines and oil company terminals.

Product inventory changes at these facilities are what constitute API and EIA demand computations. See also secondary and tertiary storage.

Processing Gain - The volumetric amount by which total output is greater than input for a given period of time. This difference is due to the processing of crude oil into products which, in total, have a lower specific gravity than the crude oil processed.

Processing Loss - The volumetric amount by which total refinery output is less than input for a given period of time. This difference is due to the processing of crude oil into products which, in total, have a higher specific gravity than the crude oil processed.

Product Authorization - Authorization by a shipper in a pipeline allowing another supplier to draw product on account, either on a limited or unlimited basis. Production Capacity - The maximum amount of product that can be produced from processing facilities. Product Supplied, Crude Oil - Crude oil burned on leases and by pipelines as fuel.

Products Supplied - Approximately represents consumption of petroleum products because it measures the disappearance of these products from primary sources, i. In general, product supplied of each product in any given period is computed as follows: Prompt - Term used in reference to wet bbl delivery timetable.

OPIS prices recognize the prompt timeframe as signifying delivery in the earliest possible pipeline cycle slot, or for waterborne pickup of material available in the next hours.

Prompt Current Month - OPIS prices labeled as prompt current month represent transactions for product that buyer and seller agree will be delivered within the next 48 hours. Prompt Delivery Prompts - Designates a spot market delivery that must be made in the next few days as stipulated by the contract. Product Transfer Order PTO - Pipeline authorizations transferring title to a set quantity of product at a specific location to another shipper.

Propane C3H8 - A normally gaseous straight-chain hydrocarbon. It includes all products designated in ASTM Specification D and Gas Processors Association Specifications for commercial propane and HD-5 propane.

Propylene C3H6 - An olefinic hydrocarbon recovered from refinery processes or petrochemical processes. Propylene C3H6 nonfuel use - Propylene that is intended for use in nonfuel applications such as petrochemical manufacturing. Nonfuel use propylene includes chemical-grade propylene, polymer-grade propylene, and trace amounts of propane. Put Option - Also referred to simply as a "put. RBOB reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending - Specially produced reformulated gasoline blendstock intended for blending with oxygenates downstream of the refinery where it was produced.

Includes RBOB used to meet requirements of the Federal reformulated gasoline program and other blendstock intended for blending with oxygenates to produce finished gasoline that meets or exceeds emissions performance requirements of Federal reformulated gasoline e. California RBOB and Arizona RBOB. Excludes conventional gasoline blendstocks for oxygenate blending CBOB. Rack Market - Petroleum products sold at the wholesale level from primary storage. See also Over the Rack. Raffinate - The residual product left after a reforming process.

The term also has been more generally used in reference to any low octane product left over after any secondary refining process. Regulated Motor Carrier - A carrier subject to economic regulation by the Department of Transportation. Refinery - An installation that manufactures finished petroleum products from crude oil, unfinished oils, natural gas liquids, other hydrocarbons and oxygenates.

Refinery Input, Crude Oil - Total crude oil domestic plus foreign input to crude oil distillation units and other refinery processing units cokers, etc.

Refinery Input, Total - The raw materials and intermediate materials processed at refineries to produce finished petroleum products. They include crude oil, products of natural gas processing plants, unfinished oils, other hydrocarbons and oxygenates, motor gasoline and aviation gasoline blending components and finished petroleum products. Refinery Production - Petroleum products produced at a refinery or blending plant.

Published production of these products equals refinery production minus refinery input. Negative production will occur when the amount of a product produced during the month is less than the amount of that same product that is reprocessed input or reclassified to become another product during the same month. Refinery production of unfinished oils, and motor and aviation gasoline blending components appear on a net basis under refinery input.

Refinery Yield - Refinery yield expressed as a percentage represents the percent of finished product produced from input of crude oil and net input of unfinished oils. It is calculated by dividing the sum of crude oil and net unfinished input into the individual net production of finished products. Before calculating the yield for finished motor gasoline, the input of natural gas liquids, other hydrocarbons and oxygenates, and net input of motor gasoline blending components must be subtracted from the net production of finished motor gasoline.

Before calculating the yield for finished aviation gasoline, input of aviation gasoline blending components must be subtracted from the net production of finished aviation gasoline. Reforming - An oil refining unit in which naphthas are changed chemically to increase their octane level. Paraffins convert to iso-paraffins and naphthenes, and naphthenes change to aromatics. The catalyst used is usually platinum, though sometimes palladium. Reid Vapor Pressure RVP - The volatility or tendency of a petroleum product to evaporate.

The lower the number, the more stable the product. RVP is used to measure pressure in terms of pounds per square inch psi. In terms of gasoline, RVP is used as an ozone control mechanism. Renewable diesel is chemically the same as petrodiesel, but it is made of recently living biomass. Renewable diesel blends follow the same nomenclature as biodiesel.

Because renewable diesel is chemically the same as petrodiesel, it can be mixed with petrodiesel in any proportion but users may need to add an additive to address lubricity issue associated with compounds with no oxygen. Renewable Identification Number RIN - A serial number assigned to a batch of biofuel for the purpose of tracking its production, use, and trading as required by the EPA's renewable fuels standard RFS.

The EPA is authorized to set annual quotas dictating what percentage of the total amount of motor fuels consumed in the U. Companies that refine, import or blend fossil fuels are obligated to meet certain individual RFS quotas based on the volume of fuel they introduce into the market.

To ensure compliance, obligated parties are periodically required to demonstrate they have met their RFS quota by submitting a certain amount of RINs to the EPA. Because each of these RINs represent an amount of biofuel that has been blended into fossil fuels, the RINs submitted to the EPA by obligated parties are a quantitative representation of the amount of biofuel that has been blended into the fossil fuels used in America.

Residual Fuel Oil - A general classification for the heavier oils, known as No. It conforms to ASTM Specifications D and D and Federal Specification VV-FC. It is used in steam-powered vessels in government service and inshore power plants. Residuum - Residue from crude oil after distilling off all but the heaviest components, with a boiling range greater than degrees Fahrenheit.

Any heavy petroleum oil, including residual asphaltic oil used as a dust palliative and surface treatment on roads and highways. It is generally produced in six grades from 0, the most liquid, to 5, the most viscous. Resistance - A technical level where the current price of a commodity will have difficulty penetrating on a price trend. Reverse Crack Spread - A spread trade implemented when a speculator thinks refiner margins will narrow. Products contracts are bought against crude contracts sold.

See also Crack Spread. Rocky Mountain Double - A combination vehicle consisting of a tractor, a 45 to 48 foot semitrailer and a shorter 28 foot semitrailer. Round Turn - Both sides of a futures contract. When a commission is paid for a futures transaction, it is usually paid on a "round turn" basis where it covers both the purchase and sale.

Rotterdam - A port in the Netherlands. The most prevalent transaction point for spot market petroleum S Back to Top Saudi Aramco - The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia.

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Secondary Storage - Petroleum storage tanks consisting of retail gas stations, bulk plants and commercial storage. The settlement or settling price provides the benchmark by which margin requirements and the next day's price limits are made.

There are frequently significant variations between closing prices - those trades witnessed immediately before the closing bell, and the settlement prices. Shell Storage Capacity - The design capacity of a petroleum storage tank which is always greater than or equal to working storage capacity. Short - Having an outstanding position to sell a wet bbl or a futures contract.

A speculative short trader would be hopeful of a market decline so he could eventually buy back his bbl at a lower price. A market with too many short traders is often described as oversold. Short Covering - Description which usually pertains to a market where speculative shorts are covering or cancelling out their positions by buying product.

A rally from short covering is not indicative of new buying and is often violent but brief. Special Naphthas - All finished products within the naphtha boiling range that are used as paint thinners, cleaners, or solvents. These products are refined to a specified flash point. Special naphthas include all commercial hexane and cleaning solvents conforming to ASTM Specification D and D, respectively.

Naphthas to be blended or marketed as motor gasoline or aviation gasoline, or that are to be used as petrochemical and synthetic natural gas SNG feedstocks are excluded. Singapore International Money Exchange SIMEX - A futures exchange in Singapore for trading fuel oil.

Specific Gravity - The comparable weight of different grades of crude oil. A lower number reflects a sweeter, lighter grade of crude oil more conducive to gasoline production.

Speculator - Industry or non-industry participant who eyes a futures or options profit by anticipating a future price movement or changing relationship. A speculator might purchase 30 Dec.

Splash Blend - To blend or mix two or more products together by adding one product to the other such as ethanol to gasoline in a cargo tank compartment or even a service station underground tank. Spot - A deal for supply wherein the price is negotiated between the buyer and the seller, and the supply commitment varies. Spot Margin - Additional funds required to be on hand as a contract approaches its delivery date.

When a NYMEX contract becomes the spot month the first month on the boardmargin requirements are increased automatically by the NYMEX. They increase again five days prior to the last trading day, with the intent of encouraging players to move out of the delivery month. Spot Market - High volume 25, tobbls contractual agreements between oil companies dictating delivery of petroleum products or crude oil in the near future for an established sales price.

Also referred to as Cash Market. Spreads - In futures markets, applies to the difference between prices of futures contracts for different delivery months, or to the difference in prices for different commodities.

Spread traders try to capitalize on likely fluctuations in these relationships, and initial spread margins are often considerably lower than for outright positions.

Squeeze - A trading situation where a lack of actual deliverable product exists. Traders who are short must buy back positions in a rapidly rising market. Standard Industrial Classification SIC Code - A classification of establishments by type of activity in which they are engaged: Still Gas Refinery Gas - Any form or mixture of gases produced in refineries by distillation, cracking, reforming, and other processes.

The principal constituents are methane, ethane, ethylene, normal butane, butylenes, propane, propylene, etc. Still gas is used as a refinery fuel and a petrochemical feedstock. The conversion factor is 6 million Btus per fuel oil equivalent barrel. Stock Change - The difference between stocks at the beginning of the reporting period and stocks at the end of the reporting period. A negative number indicates a decrease i.

Stop Limit - A limit order to purchase sell above or below in the case of a sell order if a certain stop price is reached. Stop limit orders to buy or sell are often a key feature when critical technical levels are breached or surpassed in the market.

Stop Loss - A futures order designed to close out a losing position when the price reaches the specified level. Stove Oil - Canadian term used to describe kerosene. Stove oil in Canada is the equivalent of U. Straight Truck - A vehicle with the cargo body and tractor mounted on the same chassis. Strategic Petroleum Reserve SPR - Petroleum stocks maintained by the Federal Government for use during periods of major supply interruption. Sub-Octane - Usually applies to a gasoline that does not meet the 87 octane standard which most suppliers mandate for regular unleaded distinction.

Sub-octanes are typically utilized by those using oxygenated components. Sulfur - A yellowish nonmetallic element, sometimes known as brimstone. It is present at various levels of concentration in many fossil fuels whose combustion releases sulfur compounds that are considered harmful to the environment. Some of the most commonly used fossil fuels are categorized according to their sulfur content, with lower sulfur fuels usually selling at a higher price.

Supply - The components of petroleum supply are field production, refinery production, imports, and net receipts when calculated on a PADD basis. Support Area - A price level where a descending price movement is likely to encounter resistance. Swap - An exchange of obligations to pay each other a defined amount based upon the relative values of a fixed price and specific index.

Typically, one party receives a fixed price in exchange for an indexed escalating price. Settlement is in cash and at specified times. If party A receives a fixed price and party B receives OPIS low, then party A collects the difference when OPIS is above the fixed price, and party B collects when it is lower. TAME tertiary amyl methyl ether CH3 2 C2H5 COCH3 - An oxygenate blend stock formed by the catalytic etherfication of isoamylene with methanol. Tank Farm - An installation used by gathering and trunk pipeline companies, crude oil producers, and terminal operators except refineries to store crude oil.

Tanker and Barge - Vessels that transport crude oil or petroleum products. Data are reported for movements between PADDs, from PADDs to the Panama Canal; or from the Panama Canal to a PADD.

TBA Tertiary butyl alcohol CH3 3COH - An alcohol primarily used as a chemical feedstock, a solvent or feedstock for isobutylene production for MTBE; produced as a co-product of propylene oxide production or by direct hydration of isobutylene. Tariff - A schedule of rates that a common carrier pipeline is permitted to charge to transport petroleum products or crude.

Technical analysis is often very sophisticated and is probably the single most critical factor in determining day-to-day futures price movements. TET - The designation used within the industry to specify that product traded in the original TET facility currently owned by the Energy Transfer Partners LP and Regency Energy Partners LP joint venture, LSTat Mont Belvieu, Texas. Temporary Voluntary Allowance TVA - A discount given to a jobber, often when the supplier has a surplus and is likely to run down inventories, or when retail profit pressure requires temporary rack discounting.

Tertiary Storage - The petroleum storage tanks of end users, such as vehicle gasoline tanks or home heating oil storage. Thermal Crackings - A refining process in which heat and pressure are used to break down, rearrange or combine hydrocarbon molecules. Thermal cracking includes visbreaking, fluid coking, delayed coking and other thermal cracking processes. Third Structure Tax - Any tax on road users other than registration fees or fuel taxes e. Time Value - The part of an options premium which reflects the excess over the intrinsic value, or which may reflect the entire premium if there is no intrinsic value.

Time value generally declines as an options contract nears expiration; it can represent the lion's share of the premium at great distances from expiration.

Toluene C6H5CH3 - Colorless liquid of the aromatic group of petroleum hydrocarbons, made by the catalytic reforming of petroleum naphthas containing methyl cyclohexane. A high-octane gasoline-blending agent, solvent, and chemical intermediate, base for TNT.

Ton Metric Ton - The unit of measurement for crude or products outside of the United States. On average, there are seven barrels of crude per metric ton.

Ton-Mile - The movement of one ton of freight a distance of one mile. Ton-miles are computed by dividing the weight in tons of each shipment transported by the distance hauled.

Ton-Mile Tax - A tax calculated by measuring the weight of each truck for each trip. The gross weight is assigned a tax rate which is multiplied by the miles of travel. Traders - Buyers and sellers of large quantities of petroleum products. They use the spot markets as a basis for their deals. Traders differ from brokers in that they actually take title to the product. Trailer - A vehicle designed without motive power, to be drawn by another vehicle.

Transit Time - The period of time designated by a pipeline company for petroleum products to move from one destination to another to be available at the destination.

Transmix - Also known as interface, the product removed from a pipeline system between two separate product batches that cannot be blended with the first or second product.

Trigger Deals - Futures-related or derivative instrument which allows a marketer to lock into a price relationship, but gives him the opportunity to set the absolute price at a later date.

The marketer has until an agreed upon date to pull the trigger to set the absolute value of the transaction. Truckload TL - Quantity of freight required to fill a truck. When used in connection with freight rates, the quantity of freight necessary to qualify a shipment for a truckload rate. Usually in excess of 10, pounds.

Turnaround - Originally, this term applied to the periodic inspection and maintenance of an oil refinery. It now applies to any shutdown, slowdown or operational problem brought upon by refinery maintenance.

Turnarounds are then said to be planned or unplanned. Unaccounted for Crude - Oil Represents the arithmetic difference between the calculated supply and the calculated disposition of crude oil. The calculated supply is the sum of crude oil production plus imports minus changes in crude oil stocks. The calculated disposition of crude oil is the sum of crude oil input to refineries, crude oil exports, crude oil burned as fuel, and crude oil losses. United Arab Emirates UAE - An OPEC country which is a confederation of small Arab States; of which, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the principal oil producers.

Ultra Large Crude Carrier ULCC - The largest category of tanker, generally holding at least 3. Unbranded - A supply arrangement with a supplier that is usually not contractual, and does not usually guarantee a specific amount of supply and involves product not marked by a proprietary branded additive package.

Unbranded Average - An average of all unbranded suppliers, denoted with a u in the display. Calculated for gross or net. Unfinished Oils - All oils requiring further processing, except those requiring only mechanical blending. Unfinished oils are produced by partial refining of crude oil and include naphthas and lighter oils, kerosene and light gas oils, heavy gas oils, and residuum.

Unfractionated Streams - Mixtures of unsegregated natural gas liquid components, excluding those in plant condensate. This product is extracted from natural gas. Upstream - Term applying to functions or facilities close to the wellhead. Drilling and production are generally upstream processes in the oil patch while refining and marketing are downstream. Vacuum Distillation - Distillate under reduced pressure, which lowers the boiling temperature of the liquid being distilled.

This technique prevents cracking or decomposition of the charge stock. Variation Margin - The unrealized loss in a position. Traders must post these funds to ensure that their initial margin is restored to its starting balance. Vehicle-Miles - A measurement of the total miles traveled by all vehicles in an area. Generally applies to intercity movements only. Very Large Crude Carrier VLCC - Term used to describe ocean-going tanker hauling from 1.

Visbreaking - A thermal cracking process in which heavy atmospheric or vacuum-still bottoms are cracked at moderate temperatures to increase production of distillate products and reduce viscosity of the distillation residues.

Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs - A combination of chemical pollutants that form ozone or smog. The Clean Air Act was designed in part to reduce VOCs in gasoline in order to reduce ozone pollution from gasoline exhaust and emissions. Volatility - The degree to which an oil product will vaporize, or turn from liquid to gas, when heated. Also, refers to the degree of price movement for oil products in the futures or physical markets.

Volume - The number of transactions made on a futures exchange that would consist of a purchase and a matching sale. Wax - A solid or semi-solid material consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons obtained or derived from petroleum fractions, or through a Fischer-Tropsch type process, in which the straight-chained paraffin series predominates. This includes all marketable wax, whether crude or refined, with a congealing point ASTM D between and degrees Fahrenheit and a maximum oil content ASTM D of 50 weight percent.

Weight-Distance Tax - A tax basing the fee per mile on the registered gross weight of the vehicle. Total tax liability is calculated by multiplying this rate times miles traveled. Wet Barrel - Industry term to specify actual physical barrels, often in a very prompt timeframe. Contrasts with paper bbl, where title is not backed up with actual physical material. West Texas Intermediate WTI - The benchmark grade of domestic crude, traded on the NYMEX and stored at Cushing, Oklahoma.

Working Storage Capacity - The difference in volume between the maximum safe fill capacity and the quantity below which pump suction is ineffective bottoms.

Xylenes C6H4 CH3 2 - Colorless liquid of the aromatic group of hydrocarbons made the catalytic reforming of certain naphthenic petroleum fractions. Used as high-octane motor and aviation gasoline blending agents, solvents, chemical intermediates. Isomers are metaxylene, orthoxylene, paraxylene.

Y-Grade - Magellan Pipeline terminology for No. The feedstocks that are sent to a fractionator in order to extract gas liquids. A Back to Top Abandonment Rule Order - A FERC rule that allows producers and their pipeline purchasers with pre-granted "blanket" authority to abandon sales when the contract has expired or has been mutually renegotiated.

B Back to Top Backhaul - A transaction that results in the transportation of gas in a direction opposite of the aggregate physical flow of gas in the pipeline. Batch - A shipment of one type of product through a pipeline. Bear Market Bearish - A market in which prices are declining. Break - A rapid and sharp price decline. Bull Market Bullish - A market where prices are rising.

Bunker Fuel - A heavier residual fuel oil used in a ship's boilers. Butylenes C4H8 - An olefinic hydrocarbon recovered from refinery processes. C Back to Top C-store - Short for convenience store, but also applying to retail gasoline outlets which sell convenience goods such as milk, cigarettes, soft drinks and bread.

Carload - Shipment of freight required to fill a rail car. Crude oil or petroleum distillates which are being fed to processing units for the first time. Feeds that are continuously fed back for additional processing.

A processing unit operating at less than pounds per square inch gauge PSIG measured at the outlet separator. A processing unit operating at either equal to or greater than pounds per square inch gauge PSIG measured at the outlet separator. Class I - VIII Trucks - Classification by Gross Vehicle Weight: Cover - To close out a long or short futures position.