Letter to the editor, issue 88

In response to your Issue 87 (February 2012) devoted to oil market benchmarks, I have a number of comments to share and observations to make. There are three areas which I believe received either inadequate attention or none whatsoever from your collection of ten contributors: 1.What are the long-term implications for market-based benchmarks, especially in light of long-term production trends; 2.The immediate issue that looms over the BFOE (Brent Blend, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk ) market – price convergence between its several legs; and, 3. What are the direct implications of what major producers and China are saying about oil benchmarks? I will address each of those directly