Oil pricing amid global challenges
A CBS Executive Education Masterclass

The price of oil has risen and fallen spectacularly in past decades, yet there is much debate about where prices will move in the future. Ongoing trade disputes, attacks on oil installations, efforts to stabilise climate change and the devastating effects of COVID-19 are all contributing market disorder and volatility.
In this online masterclass series, you’ll learn about major drivers of the oil market and use economic principles to explain its extraordinary price performance. You’ll gain a clear picture of oil supply and demand determinants, and will analyse pricing prospects in the near future and beyond. In the final session, you’ll also consider natural gas prices and the evolution of gas in regional markets.
Program details
If you are interested in attending future sessions, please submit an expression of interest to our team.
This is a series of online masterclasses run on Monday mornings over four weeks.
Dates: 6, 13, 20 and 27 July
Time: 9:30am – 11am AWST
Where: Delivered online
Cost:
Early bird registration (pay by 15 June): $459
General: $529
Curtin alumni, students and staff: $429
Group registration (5 or more): $429 per person
Key takeaways
Using practical, illustrative examples, these webinars provide a clear explanation of oil pricing in international markets and give you the economic tools you need to gain insight into the future behaviour of the oil market.
Content includes:
- Understanding oil market fundamentals.
- Short-term and long-term determinants of oil demand and supply, and how these determinants inform prices in international markets.
- Current oil price movements, past price behaviour and likely future directions that could impact business.
Who is this program for?
This webinar series is relevant to professionals working in the energy industry as well as government officials, researchers and students. It is also of benefit to anyone interested in the economic evaluation, market research or planning and investment of energy projects.
Program schedule
Session 1: Oil market demand | Monday 6 July |
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9.30–10.30am | Analysis of major drivers of oil consumption • Determinants of oil demand in the short term and long term – oil prices, economic growth, technological change, prices of alternatives, consumer preferences, energy policies and financial speculation. • The oil demand function and curve. • Elasticity of demand: how responsive is oil consumption to price changes? • Intensity of oil use |
10.30–11am | Live and interactive session • Case study: unprecedented demand shock in 2020 • Session Q&A |
Session 2: Oil market supply | Monday 13 July |
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9.30–10.30am | Analysis of major drivers of oil production • Determinants of oil supply in the short term and long term – oil prices, production costs, technical advance, geopolitics, government activities and market structures. • The oil supply function and curve. • Elasticity of supply: how does oil production respond to price changes? • Comparative cost curves. |
10.30–11am | Live and interactive session • Case study: ‘OPEC+’ supply – deal or no deal? • Session Q&A |
Session 3: Oil price formation and volatility | Monday 20 July |
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9.30–10.30am | Determination of equilibrium oil prices in the short and long-term future • Shifting oil pricing conventions – posted prices, bilateral contracts, producer-dictated, commodity exchanges and price reporting agencies. • Equilibrium oil prices and market balances based on demand and supply. • Oil price volatility explained. • Oil market reports and outlooks. |
10.30–11am | Live and interactive session • Case study: the price swings of 2018-2020. • Session Q&A |
Session 4: Natural gas prices | Monday 27 July |
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9.30–10.30am | Price formation in regional natural gas markets • Natural gas price formation – gas-on-gas, oil indexation, hybrids. • Gas market structures in major regions. • Likely evolution of regional gas markets – price convergence and a global market? |
10.30–11am | Live and interactive session • Case study: rapid expansion and contraction of LNG trade. • Session Q&A |
Express your interest
If you are interested in attending future sessions, please submit an expression of interest to our team.