Abstract:

As a well-known fact by millions of people, more than hundred and fifty years ago, Colonel Drake in Titusville, Pennsylvania did the first oil discovery. From 1859 to 2015, the use of oil and its market concept has dramatically changed by producers and consumers. First oligopoly market initiatives can be explained by the dissolution of the Standard Oil with the accusation of illegal monopoly in 1911. Dissolution served as an opportunity to the rise of the multi-national oil companies. Until the 1970s, these large multi-national companies administrated crude oil prices. Then, in 1973, the Arab-Israeli War began and the Organization of Petroleum Exporter Countries (OPEC) had gained the control over crude oil prices. OPEC brought the market-related pricing system, and still, it is widely used as the main crude oil pricing mechanism. With the developments in prices and markets, crude oil trading has become globally available for the access of traders at any time. Current oil market is more complex, market fundamentals are never known with certainty and physical dimension of oil has become important in pricing associated with static reserve index (Fattouh, B., 2011). There are many factors that can be effective on daily oil prices (benchmark prices) in different time periods. In this analysis, economic, technological, and political factors were analyzed with the current market conditions.

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