GRA 8518 Oil Fundamentals in a Transitioning World

GRA 8518 Oil Fundamentals in a Transitioning World

Course code: 
GRA 8518
Department: 
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Credits: 
5
Course coordinator: 
IFP
Course name in Norwegian: 
Oil Fundamentals in a Transitioning World
Product category: 
Executive
Portfolio: 
MME - MM specialisation in Energy
Semester: 
2026 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

This course is part of the Master of Management in Energy in cooperation with BI Norwegian Business School and IFP School.

The history of petroleum is inseparable from that of the major oil companies (NOCs and IOCs) which formed and grew rapidly in order to seek, produce, transform, transport and sell oil and oil products. The understanding of the key components and the challenges of oil business will give the participants the ability to build their own vision on the future of oil industry and analyze the key drivers of the energy transition for this industry.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

Upon completion, the student will be able to: 

  • Describe the key characteristics of the energy business, including the international energy outlook and the oil and gas sector (reserves, technologies, innovations, players, investments, costs, and taxation systems).
  • Build business cases around the key characteristics of downstream business, such as refining and petrochemicals economics, with a focus on refining margins and demand volatilities.
  • Apply principles of trading and risk management for oil products at a professional and managerial level. 
Learning outcomes - Skills

Upon completion, the student will be able to:

  • Thoroughly describe the key technical, innovative, and economic features of the oil industry and its major players.
  • Apply methodologies to identify and analyze the components of crude oil prices and the evolution of by-product prices (petroleum products and chemicals).
  • Analyze the techno-economics of the upstream sector in all its aspects: reserves, players (IOCs, NOCs and Contractors), investments, costs, benchmarking, and risk management.
  • Analyze the techno-economic framework of the downstream part of the oil business: refining and petrochemicals.
General Competence

Upon completion, the student will be able to:

  • Evaluate the mechanisms for crude oil trading in the physical market and the implementation of hedging strategies.
  • Independently evaluate the risk of traded products such as futures, swaps, and options in the oil market.
  • Discuss in public the environmental impact of using fossil products and how environmental objectives will impact the oil industry.
Course content

The Global Energy Outlook

  • Global energy production and consumption
  • Future of Energy demand: constraints, challenges, opportunities
  • Oil price, energy price: Influence of supply, demand, futures markets
  • Geopolitical trends
  • The actors of the energy scene and their strategies in a transitioning environment 
    • International Energy agency (IEA) Conference: Debate with IEA Experts

Oil Exploration and Production:

  • Key figures in Upstream (challenges & players) & New debates
  • Oil Reserves, Investments and Costs
  • Legal and Fiscal Aspects: Concession, Production Sharing Contract, Service Contract
  • Crisis management in upstream

Downstream Techno-economics

  • Oil refining, refining margins and costs components.
  • Petrochemicals and their economic framework
  • Maritime and Pipe-line transportation

Introduction to Trading & Risk Management:

  • Oil pricing regime & Oil price formation
  • Spot, forward & futures markets
  • Hedging & risk assessment
Teaching and learning activities

1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. 

Attendance to all sessions in the course is compulsory. If you have to miss part(s) of the course, you must ask in advance for leave of absence. More than 25% absence in a course will require retaking the entire course. It's the student's own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/ It's learning or other course materials.

Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class.

The course is a part of a full Master of Management in Energy (MME) and examination in all courses must be passed in order to obtain a certificate.

In all BI Executive courses and programmes, there is a mutual requirement for the student and the course responsible regarding the involvement of the student's experience in the planning and implementation of courses, modules and programmes. This means that the student has the right and duty to get involved with their own knowledge and practice relevance, through the active sharing of their relevant experience and knowledge.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Qualifications

Granted admission to the Master of Management in Energy programme. Please consult our student regulations.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
School Exam
Form of assessment: 
Written School Exam - pen and paper
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
100
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • No support materials
Duration: 
1 Hour(s)
Comment: 
The students are evaluated through an individual 1 hour exam, counting 100% of the final grade.
Exam code: 
GRA 85182
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
40 Hour(s)
Student's own work with learning resources
95 Hour(s)
Sum workload: 
135

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 135 hours.

Reading list