Oil Archives - GUJRAT INDIA

Crude Oil Business – How to Profile Buyers

If you would have to close a deal in the Oil and Gas business, then you must strive to apply a professional approach. As a seller, having a commodity without having anybody to buy is regarded as a waste. The essence of business is buying, selling and making profits. There are so many people out there trying to broker a deal in this industry selling crude oil but they are face with myriad of problems. The reason owing to the fact that the buyer/seller mandate or facilitators are not doing things the way they ought to be done. Most times, the actual sellers already have their buyers and most buyers also have their sellers; these buyers could seek for products else where when there is a great need for the crude oil product and their supplier cannot supply the required quantity. The people who do the scouting for either buyer/seller of crude oil product are mostly the mandates and facilitators. Most times the business becomes frustrating for them because they do not go about it the right way.

In order for a seller agent to find a suitable buyer, I would advice for him to do a little profiling. If you stand as a seller agent and looking for a genuine buyer, you should go through directories of refineries. Most of these directories list phone numbers, contact address and in some cases email addresses. If you have a strong relationship with the seller, you can request for a letter of mandate ship from him. I suggest this for professionalism sake; it gives the buyer more comfort working with you. Now that you have obtained this, you can take the following steps:

Place a phone call to the refinery/buyer: This first step is imperative because most people would prefer a phone communication so they can really feel who they are relating with. Your sole aim of making this call is to introduce yourself and your company (you should have a company name), tell the buyer what you have to offer and how you intend to deliver, the time it would take to deliver. If the buyer indicates interest, you can now request for his email address if you don’t have it.

Do an email to the buyer: After having made the phone call, you can now send an email to him with your working procedure together with you letter of mandate ship and company details. The mail should reference the call that was placed to him and the exact time and date. You can also re-introduce yourself one more time. If after going through the procedure and he is comfortable with it, you can now proceed with the other part of the deal as indicated in the procedure.

Alternatively, you can also write to companies buying crude oil. The letter should be an introduction letter written with your company letter headed paper. If you are the mandate, you can also include your letter of mandate ship and your procedure. Please make sure that this letter is packaged in a professional manner with your contact details included in it. You can send to as many companies as you can and wait to get your response. If you don’t get a response within a period of time, you can call in to ask if they got your letter and if they are interested in doing business with you.

Professionalism should be the keyword in crude oil business; if you achieve this then be sure to expect a positive response after your profiling.

To your success.

World Oil Deals – Are Fortunes Made As Intermediary in Oil and Petroleum Trade Deals?

A. THE GET-RICH-QUICK ETHIC IN THE BUSINESS

We call this the ‘get rich quick’ or ‘get rich overnight’ ethic or mentality. That is, the notion and thinking that just the mere involvement of one in the petroleum trading business, whether as a dealer or a broker, agent or other intermediary role, will almost automatically guarantee one a millionaire, in deed, a multimillionaire, station in life, and almost in no time at all! That is an ethic and mentality that has pervaded the common mindset and psychic of the average intermediary involved, or contemplating involvement, in the business today, and has been even particularly more heightened since the modern era of the Internet trading. In a word, it is a mentality that says that world oil deals and the petroleum trading are a business that is awash in wealth and fortunes and easily guarantees the intermediary who gets involved in it in any capacity at all, but in particular as an agent or intermediary of some sort, that, as one analyst put it, “you are going to be super rich next week or next month” by doing so.

Historically, in the past, over a period of several decades (and beyond), there has almost always been a sizable number of what could be called “professional middlemen” who operated in the oil and other commodity “secondary market” trading industries who are primarily but genuinely driven by the belief or inner conviction that working as an intermediary in the industry is a reasonable path to honest living which, if not leading one to an instant wealth, then at least to a reasonable means of livelihood and steady economic progress and well-being.

In more recent times, however, since the advent of the Internet and its increasing role as the dominant and preferred tool for conducting business among intermediaries, there has gradually shifted and developed, in stead, over the years, a “new breed” of intermediaries and middlemen (brokers, agents, etc) in the trade. Often given to far less education, training or apprenticeship in the trade than the previous pre-Internet generation of intermediaries, and usually having vastly less knowledge and experience in the art of international trading because of the greater ease of entry into the business afforded them by the Internet, as a group this “new breed” of post-Internet intermediaries and middlemen are generally less shackled by the normal moral code or ethics and decorum, and are more greedy and in a greater hurry to “strike it big and fast” by merely working as an intermediary. And, just as importantly, they’re in a greater hurry to clinch that elusive, dubious get-rich-quick ambition by any means whatsoever, including the scamming of unsuspecting or gullible international crude buyers, as such scheme is aided and made easier for them by the Internet and the easier cover of anonymity that it provides them.

In deed, as many knowledgeable observers and respected analysts of the industry have noted, the get-rich-quick greed and mentality have, in these hard global economic times of today (mid 2012), reached an even new, particularly frenzied high, as many crooks, scammers and fraudsters with actually no real crude oil to sell, have now trooped into the international crude oil selling business in unprecedented numbers, seeing that arena as a fertile ground for them in attaining their dubious ambition of “striking it big and fast.”

Robert McAngus (among many others), the Managing Partner/CEO for the Robert McAngus Group, has noted, with great lamentation, that phenomenon. In a 2004 article, McAngus voiced a rather ringing alarm at the escalated, often grossly unrealistic, divorced-from-reality kind of the commission fees being demanded, or expected, in recent times by brokers and intermediaries in the petroleum trading.

According to McAngus:

“Over the past few years, I have seen the fees charged to a possible transaction spiral upward in some cases reaching the astronomic heights of $30 USD per metric ton to be divided 50/50 between the buy side and the sell side. For God sake! Get a life! Or at least do the mathematics, on a simple 100,000 metric ton transaction using the figures I have quoted, that’s $30,000,000.”

McAngus continues, asking: “Please explain how we, as the buyers, are supposed to justify that amount of money to the bank at which we have our lines of credit, and perhaps if I have a reader at this point they can explain what the broker did to earn this amazing sum of money… I have no idea where the idea that fees of this magnitude are paid to brokers in an oil transaction [came from], or for that matter who in the transaction is going to pay them, certainly not me as the buyer!.”

A salient aspect of this common notion and thinking is that to attain this high financial status of instant wealth in the business, you need not necessarily have to work hard or to be trained or particularly experienced in and knowledgeable about, it, but can attain it by this doing basically nothing – other than, perhaps, just shoving around a few copied or bogus false oil trade deals documents on the Internet usually passed down to the particular intermediary from other fellow equally uninformed brokers and intermediaries.

B. BUT HOW TRUE OR REAL IS THIS THINKING?

The principal question, of course, is: How true or real or not is this general thinking, if any? Are fortunes made as intermediary in petroleum and oil trade deals? We shall address this issue pretty soon. But, first of all, let us address the general nature of this thinking, and its general genesis or origins.

C. A MAJOR INFLUENCE and FACTOR IN THE CREATION OF THIS MINDSET OF GREED & GET-RICH-QUICK MYTHOLOGY

There might, of course, have been some other significant relevant factors and influences to which the origins and genesis of this present-day phenomenon of get-rich-quick mentality in oil deals could be attributable. But, for our purposes here, suffice it simply to say that, based upon this writer’s own extensive research on the subject, there seems to be one dominant intellectual factor, above all, which has significantly influenced and aided a great many among the current breed of Internet brokers and intermediaries in formulating this conception of the nature of the oil trading business, and of the above-described current mentality of greed and get-rich-quick mythology that is widely prevalent among these players about the oil business.

And what is that factor?

Somewhat incredibly, that factor seems to be one rather obscure e-book rather appropriately titled “How to Earn $Millions in Oil Deal.” Its author is Mr. Sam Igwe, who goes by the alias Sam Nelson, said to be an operator of an oil consulting service since 2003. Credible research shows that an early, cheap, but powerful and influential Internet promoter and preacher of the gospel of the quickie-and-easy-wealth-from-service-as-a-petroleum-deal-agent, is this simple publication by Mr. Sam Igwe, alias Sam Nelson – titled “How to Earn $Millions in Oil Deal.”

D. The Basic Doctrine of “get rich-quick-with-no-work-or-effort” of the Nelson Publication

In point of fact, Sam Nelson’s “How to Earn $Millions in Oil Deal” publication lives absolutely up to the billing of its title as an ardent gospel that fervently preaches what the title denotes!

Though nominally stating at the outset that the book is “not a ‘Get Rich Quick’ book,” the book promptly asserts that “If you are searching for a sure, fast and genuine way to earn fast, steady, honest living and how to become a millionaire, I bet, this is the right book [for you].” The publication proclaims itself to be “the clear path to financial freedom,” it declares its prime mission as being to teach the reader “the long-held secrets of how to work smart and become a big-time Agent, millionaire within few months,” and asserts that it “is intended to open the eyes and minds of the readers to join the team of the big players in crude oil business.”

Regarding the amount of money the average intermediary agent or “facilitator” is to expect, Nelson asserts,

“• Do you know you can become an Oil Deal Facilitator and EARN Millions of dollars within few months? • Do you know you can become a Buyer’s or Seller’s Agent? • Do you know you can EARN $1,000,000 – $2,000,000 just for successfully closing one Oil deal within few months?” He adds that you can “induct yourself into the Millionaires Club!,” that you “can change your life forever by becoming an Oil Deal Facilitator and earn up to ($2,000,000) two million dollars within few months… [with only] a phone and an Internet access, your only investment is just this step-by-step (Manual).”

Nelson sums up his “attain super wealth overnight” doctrine this way:

“There are millions of barrels of Crude Oil being sold daily around the world. You can close a deal in any part of the world. Just a click of your mouse and few phone calls plus extra smart work… you can earn Millions of dollars in just few months by successfully closing one Oil Deal working in the comfort of your home as a facilitator. These secrets have not been made public because the participants do not want the public to learn their game. These oil deal giants have been very privileged to learn the game and have constantly made people feel that one has to be a millionaire before he/she can participate. This is not true.”

E. No Work, No Education or Skills Required!

And is there any amount of work or efforts that it will take for the agent to master this business and make a success of it, or to earn all that money? Is there any education, skills, knowledge, investment and experience that this will take or require? Nelson’s answer to these questions is, basically, practically little to none of that. According to Nelson, “This is Easy and Simple! Just from your dinning table you will work at your own pace and make millions of dollar within few months. There is no hidden cost. No huge investment. No upfront fees. (WE MEAN ‘NO FEES UPFRONT’).”

F. BUT HOW TRUE OR REAL IS THIS THINKING?

And now we get back to this central but critical question: How true or real is this general thinking, if any at all? Basically, the question is, are fortunes made as intermediary in petroleum trade deals, in fact?

In point of fact, if we were to put it simply in a word, probably the most fundamental and truest thing that could be said about the above-sketched doctrine of “get rich quick with no work or efforts” for the oil trader or intermediary, is simply that that doctrine is completely and patently false and misleading, and is at variance with, and directly contradictory to, the whole TRUTH and actual REALITY about the business! It is that the above-prescribed thinking is patently contradicted by the well-established, tried-and-proven trading doctrine and thinking that has long been preached, practiced and successfully used by mainstream traders and the most respected and most successful experts and practitioners of trading for generations in the industry!

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Sure, decent money, or, in deed, even high incomes could still be made, and continue to be made, by many persons working as an intermediary in the business today, and a good number of intermediaries still close oil trade deals that are lucrative. But that’s ONLY by someone, however, who shall have already “paid his dues” in the industry before hand, before he (she) can possibly attain such success and such income working in the business – in terms of having acquired the requisite education and training, of being skilled and knowledgeable in the fundamentals of the trade and the appropriate rules and procedures of the trade, and, above all, of having acquired the hands-on practical experience and apprenticeship and long years (some 2-3 years or more) of painstaking, patient, diligent hard work in the business.

Clearly, that is a far, far, cry from the Nelson doctrine outlined above which essentially says and spreads the thinking that, as a broker or agent working in world oil deals and trading, you’re almost automatically “guaranteed” to close oil trade deals and to attain incredibly humongous and high “millionaire” financial status of instant wealth within months in the business just by the mere trying of your hands at it; and that you need not necessarily have to work hard at it or to be trained or particularly experienced in and knowledgeable about it, but can attain such great wealth overnight, any way, by doing basically nothing — other than, perhaps, just shoving around a few copied or false oil deal documents on the Internet usually passed down to the particular intermediary from other fellow brokers and intermediaries.

Clearly, anyone who really knows anything about the true realities of the business, would immediately tell you that nothing could be more ‘Joker Broker’ like type of philosophy than the above-described Nelson doctrine. An attitude and mindset that immediately reminds one of this characterization made by one analyst about the core nature of the joker broker, “Some of them [the “Internet” brokers or joker brokers] are quite entertaining [in the notions about the workings of business they typically exhibit], and remind us of the Nigerian scam artists. The world simply [just] does not work like that.”

G. THE PERVASIVENESS OF SUCH THINKING AMONG THE INTERMEDIARIES

Yet, such attitude and thinking fundamentally represents the kind of underlying mindset and mentality which typically pervades and controls the thinking of most persons who are attracted by and enticed into dabbling into the role of an agent or intermediary in petroleum dealings today – a mindset and mentality which essentially views the petroleum trading business as the ‘cash cow’ path to instant financial riches, and one which requires no deep learning or knowledge set to attain it, no long experience, and no hard work, but could simply be accomplished merely by passing around a few copied or even forged but never verified “documents” on the Internet! An underlying mindset and mentality of get-rich-quick-through-the-intermediary-work-without-work-or-study, which, though grossly misguided and totally erroneous and misinformed, pervades the broker network on the Internet – and bespeaks of the kind of unbelievable unrealism, unreal mentality and difficult-to-comprehend attitude often witnessed among a good many Internet brokers and agents operating in the international petroleum trading market today in terms of the frequent presentation one sees on their part of offers of business propositions or demands that are often impracticable, totally unreal and unrealistic, seemingly mere day-dreaming than serious, clearly divorced from simple reality, and completely contrary to all time-honored, well-established norms of the trade and the normal ways of doing business!

H. How Pure Greed Blinds & Hoodwinks People into this Doctrine

It is a mindset and mentality that, though rooted in the Sam Nelson doctrine, have their most primary and powerful impetus in one fundamental factor – sheer human GREED and FANTASY or MYTHOLOGY! Many times, mainly consumed by the false thought of becoming “super rich” overnight out of the blues from an oil deal, many of such brokers are found to be innocently and naively trying to close a deal for someone who they believe, or merely hope, to be real, but who is, in fact really not. But oftentimes, they are too blinded and overcome by the false belief in their pipe dream of becoming “super rich next week or next month” overnight by virtually doing nothing, or too proud or conceited, to simply accept or concede that such beliefs and procedures that they present are simply incorrect or impracticable, and so they refuse to change their ways and continue along the same futile path of wasting their time and the precious time of others, for months and years still trying to push plainly unworkable deals – until, perhaps, it finally begins to dawn on them that for so long no deals have been closed, or are likely to be closed, and not a dime of income has been, or is likely to be, earned!

These words of cautionary alarm and distress by a vastly experienced and successful 35-year veteran of the business, Robert McAngus, the Managing Partner/CEO of the international conglomerate, Robert McAngus Group, concerning the escalating greed and demands for unrealistic levels of commission fees he had observed from Internet agents and brokers, seem to hit the nail squarely on the head:

“Having been in the oil business since 1976, many years prior to the birth of the internet and Skype, I feel I have the practical experience and the hands-on management knowledge and skills required to try and set some of the misunderstandings [held by brokers and intermediaries about what they should be paid] right,” as he strongly advices the brokers and agents that, having come from the old school, he would strongly ask that they always “THINK THE DEAL THROUGH. If you as a fresh-faced young broker or a grizzled seasoned veteran, take the time to think about the process, I am sure that you will realize that this industry requires a lot of hard work and effort, so rather than just pass the deal from your friend Joe, along to the next broker friend, do some dam work and find out if the deals [are] real or not, and try to earn your commissions.”

I. Don’t Even Try Your Hands at It Until You’ve Had the Requisite Education, Training, and Experience

Divide Papa, the noted expert in modern international trading procedures, somewhat debunking the Nelson doctrine of get-rich-quick-without work-or-study, elaborates:

“[If] you want to become a Doctor or Accountant or Engineer,” he notes, reminding us of the way things have always worked in the real world, “you must [first] study and go to school for may years. Then obtain experience. You want to become a professional intermediary Buyer/seller, the same ideal applies – 2/3 years is the learning, obtaining the experience cycle, and after studying, many will give up trying. That’s how difficult this business is. But in return – if you close even just ONE single large deal – you will make a small fortune. You will make a life time of earnings on one deal. If you learn and study well your chances to close one deal is an even 50/50. [However], if you trade without study, your chances of closing a deal is ZERO. There is no 100% study applications in this business.”

Papa adds that any persons who are acting as import/export intermediaries in world petroleum deals, but have NOT first done the requisite studies, or fail to apply the appropriate doctrine of trading that’s followed by credible practitioners and experts, are virtually doomed to failure, guaranteed to close no deals or to make even a dime in income. And such persons, he asserts, should just rest assured that at least 99% of them “have no idea on what they are doing and will never close one deal even in 50 year of trading with silly procedures like LOI, ICPO, BCL, POP, etc. The net is full of silly ill-informed intermediaries who think they are trading when, in fact, all they’re doing is trading in nothing – just wasting time.”

SUMMARY

To summarize, the central point of this essay is that – whatever may have actually been, or is, the causal source for or genesis of it, whether it is traceable to Mr. Nelson’s book, or to the new ethic of the Internet and the Internet generation, or some other unidentifiable corrupting or misguiding influence, or whatever else – literally nothing could be more wrong-headed, more misleading, misguided or unfortunate for the international petroleum marketing business today, or any Internet broker and agent who operates or want to operate in it, than adopting or buying into the above-described doctrine of fortune being made as intermediary in petroleum trade deals overnight, without work or efforts or education, which is widely admitted to be the underlying prevailing mindset operating among many of today’s Internet brokers and agents. In fact, to put it even more starkly, the central point that is made here is that nothing could be more cruelly ‘Joker Broker’ like – i.e., more negative or despicable, more unreal and unrealistic, more damaging or destructive, and counterproductive – to the average broker’s very own best interests and to his best chances of ever finding success in the business or ever landing any sales, closing any deals or making any income – than for a broker to operate under this kind of thinking and mindset – a mindset that is completely false and wrong, totally mistaken and misleading, unrealistic, unattainable, and absolutely contrary to and devoid of any realities and all norms of doing business..

Put simply, in terms of world oil deals, it is this innate belief in the above-described doctrine and mistaken thinking concerning the actual nature and realities of international trading and what ought to be the proper role of the commission intermediary in it that is generally held by the modern Internet intermediary, consciously or unconsciously, deliberately or otherwise, that is fundamentally the single most critical element which account for why most commission intermediaries fail as agents and generally do not close any deals or earn much income, for months, even for years of involvement in the business. And, what is more, it is this unfortunate innate erroneous belief that is held by them, that has been the most fundamental critical element which account for the terrible image of the modern Internet commission intermediary in today’s petroleum marketing business, and the horrible image and notoriety with which they are generally viewed.

And this is so for very good and readily understandable, and, in large part, justifiable reason!

Why so? Simply, because to operate in the business based on such a wrong-headed doctrine or mindset, or such misguided thinking, by any one at all, directly leads one, as it has with the intermediaries involved in the oil business, astray, leading them to the wrong approach and wrong mindset and procedures for the business, and therefore to undesired results and to failure and not being able to close oil trade deals, or to earn commission income from their involvement in the business.

An apt and excellent word of knowledge by which to conclude this essay is perhaps this one offered by one noted expert and author on the international trade intermediary, “There are no short cuts in this business [of trying to work as a trader or an intermediary].”

Or, to put it perhaps even more lucidly still, I might myself add this: “Either trade with the correct philosophy and approach, or fail woefully if you try to trade otherwise!” As an intermediary (or trader), those are your ONLY two stark options and certain results, and none else!

FOR A FOLLOW UP

WISH TO FOLLOW UP ON GETTING A CRUDE OIL OR PETROLEUM PRODUCTS SELLER OR BROKER WITH WORKABLE, REALISTIC PROCEDURES THAT A CREDIBLE BUYER CAN READILY ACCEPT? Please see the instructional information in the author’s resource box below

Most Oil Sellers and Brokers Fail – Crude Oil Selling Procedures That Sell in Today’s Internet Era

Most Crude Oil And Petroleum Product Sellers, Brokers and Agents, in the International “Secondary” Oil Market, Do Not Make Any Sales Or Income. Do You Ever Wonder Why?

A MAJOR “HIDDEN SECRET” OF OIL SELLERS & BROKERS: MOST DO NOT MAKE ANY SALES or INCOME

Crude oil and petroleum products sellers, and their brokers and agents, who operate in the so-called “secondary market” of the international oil market today, do not usually speak about this, or like to do so. Or like the fact about this to be known. In deed, many of them would rather that it be kept obscured, or simply misrepresented. But, the fact is that one distinctive part of their business “reality” is this: as a group, they frequently close no deals nor make any sales for the oil product they purport to have available to sell, and, in fact, the vast majority of them often go for months, even years, or perhaps for ever, without ever landing even a single sales contract or deal. It is probably what might simply be called “the open secret” of the oil selling industry!

C. Keila Nakasaka, a California attorney and real estate investor and entrepreneur, who conducted extensive market research and investigations into the D2 diesel oil trade to see if he could prudently recommend taking up the commission broker’s job to his clients, says he came away from his research greatly disillusioned and disappointed. According to him, the “stories that these brokers concoct are that the seller has some direct connection with a refinery. Some even claim that the seller is, in fact, one of the leading energy companies in Russia… [but] what bothered me [the most] is that almost every one of these brokers failed to be forthcoming. They often misrepresented themselves as mandates, direct representatives, and even buyer and sellers.”

Probably the principal and most sensitive thing about which most such sellers and intermediaries (the agents, facilitators, mandates, brokers, etc.) are least “forthcoming” and “misrepresenting” about, is concerning the number and volume of sales deals they have ever closed, if any, or the income they have earned in the trade, if any. Simply put, almost all of these operatives generally close no deals, and earn almost nothing. Most of them go for months, even years – or forever – without successfully closing any sales deals, not to speak of earning even a dime in commission income!

As Nakasaka put it, describing his findings: “Another factor which I thought was odd was that most of the brokers I spoke with never closed a D2 deal despite their months and sometimes years in this business. There was one broker who claimed that he had pending deals, and two who stated that they did in fact close these deals. However, I did not find them credible.”

MAJOR REASONS FOR THIS, WHICH ACCOUNT FOR WHY MOST “SECONDARY MARKET” SELLERS & THEIR INTERMEDIARIES NEVER CLOSE ANY DEALS

Why is this so – that they make no sales or income? Many factors account for it. They could roughly be summed up as follows:

1. MOST SELLERS (and their intermediaries) ARE FAKE, ANY WAY, WITH NO CRUDE OR OIL PRODUCT TO SELL

A fact that is by now well-established and not subject to any disputation whatsoever among credible experts in the industry, is that the overwhelming majority of selling offers peddled by crude oil and petroleum product “sellers” in the so-called “secondary” oil markets, and their brokers, agents, and other intermediaries, are fake and bogus. In deed, some objective studies and research have put its extent at a whopping level of some 99.999999 percent of all offers presented for sale. Probably the only thing of much redeeming value that could be stated about this, is that with particular respect to those who act as foreign brokers and intermediaries in the business, some of them may often be engaged fraudulently in the business but innocently and unwittingly, mistakenly believing that the deal or selling operation is authentic and legitimate, when it actually is not.

2.LACK OF PROPER TRAINING, SKILLS OR KNOWLEDGE IN THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE BUSINESS

Put very simply, perhaps nowhere is the saying that “we live in a wide interconnected world” more applicable today than in the world of the international buying and selling of crude oil and petroleum products. For the most part, virtually all that one needs in order to become a “seller” of crude oil or petroleum product, or his agent, legitimate or not, who are operating out of any part of the world, is simply to have an access to a computer and an Internet connection. That’s just about all! Unfortunately, however, one dire negative effect of this so-called “revolution of the Internet” (among many others), has been that many who now claim to be, or operate as, “sellers” or the sellers’ “brokers” or “agents,” are largely uneducated or semi-illiterate, untrained and unskilled, and are lacking in any knowledge of the proper fundamentals of international oil trading.

Kamal J. Southall, one of the foremost experts on the subject, whose book, “Trade Fraud, Financial Fraud, and the Joker Broker,” is one of the most authoritative texts on the phenomenon, puts it this way:

“Have you noticed that as you’ve searched Google and libraries, and looked high and low, finding bits of information here and there, you encounter interesting phenomena: very little practical information on the art and science of dealing in International trade as an independent trader exists in any comprehensive way. Certain practices, documents, and procedures; mysterious acronyms such as “NCND” or “MPA,” are thrown back and forth, badly corrupted model documents and forms may filter your way, but the reality is that most attempted home based traders, brokers – or, more properly, intermediaries – learn through highly expensive ‘trial and error,’… often re-inventing the wheel each time, in that ever-elusive search for a deal and knowledge on how to close that deal.”

Southall estimates, citing another expert’s calculation, that out of some one million individuals currently trying to make it as brokers or trade intermediaries in the world, “perhaps no more than 1% has the training and skill needed to ever close a deal… [meaning that] the overwhelming majority, are trading blindly, [hence] deals are collapsing… and more to the point, [oil dealers are] being defrauded – sometimes massive..”

Mr. R. Ambardar, a broker of over 10 years of wide experience in international market development and advisory services, calls “lack of experience and knowledge” one of the principal reasons why many brokers and facilitators fail in crude oil endeavors. “Many people are attracted into this business because of [the tales they hear about the] kind of money one can earn on account of successful deals. Many agents fail, [however], to understand that requirements to succeed in this business are very demanding, [and that] Only those who have years of hands-on experience and thorough knowledge of the industry can strive to do well as middle-men.”

A great many number of brokers, Ambardar adds, forget that “To become a ‘Facilitator’ in oil business,… what you actually need is right knowledge and expertise [since this is what will help] you hook up genuine buyers and sellers. One should be in the industry for long to have acquired knowledge related to the dynamics of this business.”

Consequently, one fundamental way in which this general lack of competence or knowledge about the basics of the oil trade manifests itself, is in the inability of the average person among the string of brokers and agents and intermediaries that operate in the trade, to craft good deals and successfully close sales deals even after several months or years in the business.

3. BYE AND LARGE, MOST BROKERS AND AGENTS LEARN THEIR CRAFT FROM THE INTERNET, AND THIS HAS SOME SERIOUS DRAWBACKS

There is, for the average contemporary seller’s agent or broker, one other serious shortcoming and negative consequence that emanates directly out of the fact that the primary source of their education and training by which they learn the workings of the oil trading business, is essentially the Internet. Again, Kamal J. Southall sums up these negative consequences this way:

“The expertise in recognizing a questionable trade lead or tender request from a strong one, is generally lacking through the Internet, [and] there is no critical filtering of the leads you end up reading. Anything that can be put out there, is put out there, from the genuine to the questionable, to the fraudulent. Moreover, the nature of the “broker network” is such that information is often passed about with little critical filtering, lack of knowledge of proper trading procedures and the general tendency of information to become corrupted as it trades hands, [and this] leads to dangerous results.”

4.LONG STRING OF BROKERS, AGENTS AND MIDDLEMEN, MOST OF WHOM UNDERCUT EACH OTHER.

Partly as a result of the virtual lack of any objective requirements for qualification as an agent or middleman in the trade, and the ease of entry into it, these operators generally tend to function in a climate of little or no rules or standards, and of loose or no ethics, in which the “dog eat dog” mentality seem to prevail – a climate in which each broker, agent, or mandate, being only selfishly concerned with just his own personal gains and self-interest, is constantly trying to undercut and circumvent the other in deals. Thus, often leading to the ultimate detriment of ALL the parties involved in an offer, as ALL of them, as a whole, and not just one party or the other, invariably wind up the losers since NO deal at all is had with any buyer.

“[One] reason why it’s difficult to ascertain the truth [concerning the oil product market],” reported C. Keila Nakasaka, the California attorney and entrepreneur who investigated the industry in 2010 for possible recommendation of the trade to his clients, “is that there are multiple brokers involved in any given transaction; and they’re all afraid of circumvention. Hence, it’s almost impossible to know the end buyer or seller. Now, I understand that sometimes it requires teamwork to put a large transaction together, but what bothered me is that almost every one of these brokers failed to be forthcoming. They often misrepresented themselves as mandates, direct representatives, and even buyer and sellers.”

THE “JOKER BROKER” CHARACTER

Sure, admittedly, there’s no question that the phenomenon of having a lengthy string of players, including brokers, agents and intermediaries, in a business transaction, is a necessary aspect of international business. Even more so, especially, in today’s Internet world in which we are all so interconnected globally. Certainly, in oil sales transactions, it should come as no surprise or anything unusual to anyone that such operations, because they often tend to involve huge sums of money and elaborate logistics, would sometimes require teamwork to put the transactions together. And hence, should sometimes involve a multiple number of parties – traders, agents, intermediaries, brokers, mandates, buyers, distributors, etc – to conclude a deal. However, what is different here, is not so much the fact that in the Internet crude oil dealings one encounters a string of too many brokers and middlemen. Rather, it is the fact that most of these brokers and middlemen or intermediaries that get involved in it, typically act and behave in the detrimental manner of what is known as the so-called “Joker Brokers.”

As Kamal J. Southall put it, “But the experience of the underground string of international brokers trading meaningless offers and circumventing each other, left and right, illustrates well the term “Joker Broker” and resembles, often, a Zoo full of monkeys.”

Adding that “the character, [which is] often scorned as ‘the Joker Broker,’ is one thing most people encounter very quickly in their forays into the world of trading,” Southall, the author of a classic on the “Joker Broker” character, gives a definition and explanation of the essence of this “Joker Broker” behavior, this way:

“Defined in the first instance as a bit of a time waster, the joker broker is an individual who knowingly or unknowingly peddles and plies deals and products that, in the vast majority of instances, are non-existent, or badly defined. Characterized by a tendency to bluff his way through transactions, the Joker Broker is one… [who goes about] plying deals often involving a string of brokers from one end of the planet to another, and yet not a single one has verified the very existence of the goods at hand.”

.One significant result of this?

With a multiplicity of brokers and chain of agents often involved in a trade, and each party operating selfishly and undercutting and sabotaging each other in a working environment in which each party is untrusting of the other in a transaction, and is scared of being circumvented by the other; most deals which the “secondary” market sellers and their brokers and agents undertake, are automatically doomed to failure, even from the very beginning. And often do fail.

5. PERVASIVENESS OF “The Joker Broker” MENTALITY AMONG THE INTERNET BROKERS, AGENTS & OTHER INTERMEDIARES

However, probably the most fundamental and central factor which accounts for why most intermediaries involved in the “secondary” oil market are generally not able to, and do not, close any sales deals or earn any income or commission as brokers and agents even after several months or years of peddling their oil product, could simply be condensed into one broad term: namely, the powerful pervasive grip that the “The Joker Broker” mentality has come to have on the brokers and agents, most of whom today are merely Internet-based brokers and agents.

What Is meant by this?

Put very simply, many brokers and agents, driven and limited by the fact that they generally lack much training or knowledge in the fundamentals of international trading, and by the fact, in today’s Internet era, that their only “qualification” for assuming the mantle of being a “broker” or “agent” in the oil business, is simply that they have an access to the Internet and a computer, often behave in their conduct of the oil selling operation, in a manner that “resembles, often, a Zoo full of monkeys” – in the words of Kamal J. Southall, the author of a classic on “‘the Joker Broker” character. A common characteristic of these brokers and agents, is that they peddle, knowingly or unknowingly, crude oil deals and products that on the face of it, are in most instances seemingly non-existent or questionable, or at least badly defined, while yet acting as though all is well with the product they offer, and that there’s absolutely nothing for the prospective buyer to worry about concerning it. They are mostly blinded by greed and false belief that they “are going to be super rich next week or next month” by doing nothing, other than, just shoving around a few copied documents on the Internet usually passed down to them from other jokers, none of which any of them has usually verified as to the very existence of the goods they purport to be selling.

Apart from the fact that a good many of them would, whether they do it knowingly or not, frequently try to push fake deals on the Internet, they generally act out of many misconceptions and beliefs which are simply not true, usually passed down to them from other jokers. Many times, mainly concerned with “making a quick, fast buck,” they are innocently and naively trying to close a deal for someone who they believe or merely hope to be real, but who is, in fact really not. But oftentimes, they are too proud or conceited to simply accept or concede that their own beliefs and procedures are simply incorrect, refuse to change their ways, and continue to waste their time and others’ time for months and years still trying to push deals – until, perhaps, it finally begins to dawn on them that for so long no deals have been closed, or are likely to be closed, and not a dime of income has been, or would be, earned!

But above all else, perhaps the most detrimental factor that results in the lack of business or income for most “Internet” crude oil brokers and agents, is the fact that, lacking much experience or real understanding of the true workings of international business or the way it actually works, they are often totally unrealistic and impractical about the conditions and requirements they demand of, or expect that, prospective buyers would accept in order to buy the products they purport to have for sale. That is, they often present sales offers and proposals that are so impracticable, unworkable and outrageously unreal, and are totally contrary to the way normal and legitimate business has traditionally been done in the real world.

As one analyst put it, “Some of them [the “Internet” brokers or joker brokers] are quite entertaining [in the notions about business workings they present], and remind us of the Nigerian scam artists. The world simply does not work like that.”

EXAMPLE OF JOKER BROKER OFFER THAT CAN’T WORK

The following is a good example of the Joker Broker-type of offer that the oil sellers and their brokers and agents, most of whom operate mostly online today, typically demand of intending buyers. It is presented in the form of the transactions PROCEDURES they demand that the would-be oil buyer should meet and follow, such as these:

TRANSACTIONS PROCEDURES:

1) The Buyer submits ICPO (Irrevocable Corporate Purchase Order) & banking details

2) Seller issues FCO (Full Corporate Offer) on his letterhead with full contact details.

3) Buyer returns the FCO duly signed and stamped.

4) Seller and buyer sign contract.

5) Seller and buyer exchange the Proof of Product (POP) and Proof of Funds (POF) in the following sequence/order:

6). First: Seller issues POP to the buyer. Second: After buyer verification and within 7 banking days, buyer’s bank issues POF to seller’s bank.

7) Buyers bank opens non-operative Letter of Credit (L/C) to seller’s bank/or Bank Guarantee (at seller’s choice).

8) Seller issues 2% Performance Bond (PB) to activate L/C.

9) Shipment commences as per the agreed contract.

TO TODAY’S BUYERS, THIS IS WHAT THESE PROCEDURES ARE SAYING TO THEM

In point of fact, actually the procedures such as the above-outlined, are “standard” and should, in NORMAL and proper circumstances, ordinarily be a workable and acceptable set of terms and conditions or requirements for a credible prospective buyer to do business by. However, here’s what brings about the big difference here: there is one very serious and fundamental factor that is grossly missing here. And that is this: typically, such offer requiring the intending buyer to comply with these procedures, is made, NOT by or from by a known or established or even readily identifiable person or entity, or necessarily by an AUTHENTIC crude seller or supplier. But merely by an Internet “seller.” It is typically presented by someone who merely writes (or phones) and claims, usually via some Internet connection or communication (a portal, email or website), that he is a crude “seller,” or the broker or agent of one, who supposedly has some oil available to sell. And it is typically presented by someone who, invariably, would present virtually no tangible evidence or proof whatsoever establishing his (or her) bona fides and credentials as an authentic seller, or an intermediary of one, nor shows any real track record of having previously performed in the crude oil selling business, or any other products.

Thus, in effect, what is essentially happening here, is that a set of well-meaning procedures which have legitimately been designed by the industry professionals to be used by LEGITIMATE crude sellers, and have traditionally been used by RELIABLE and respectable crude sellers and buyers alike to do business, have suddenly been hijacked by a new breed of “Internet” brokers and agents – Joker Brokers – who now demand that prudent crude buyers are to adopt precisely those same procedures in transacting business with them! To put it another way, were these Internet brokers and crude “sellers” to have been some of the so-called oil Majors – such as Chevron, Valero, Shell Oil, Exxon Mobile, British Petroleum, Total Oil, etc. – meaning companies and business entities that are well-known, already established, readily recognizable, reputable and trustworthy, there would have been absolutely no problem or question about the crude buyers using those “standard” procedures and conditions set forth above in doing business with the Internet sellers and brokers. However, that is not the case all, here. Rather, quite to the contrary, these Internet-type brokers and agents (and the purported sellers whose offers they peddle), are largely Internet-based; and are generally obscure operations, or even non-existent, with no known identity, no recognized base of operations, or established record or history of past performance as crude sellers.

WHY THE INTERNET BROKERS’ PROCEDURES LARGELY DON’T & CAN’T WORK WITH BUYERS

Yet, this is, in the vast majority of instances, the kind of supposed crude “sellers” who want and ask that would-be buyers should be submitting to those same procedures and conditions in dealing with them. Clearly, that’s a ridiculous “Joker Broker” type of day-dreaming – virtually no credible crude oil buyer anywhere in the world would accept to submit an ICPO (Irrevocable Corporate Purchase Order) to a mere unknown, unproven, dubious Internet “seller” of crude oil to solicit business with such an entity. And certainly, no credible crude oil buyer anywhere in the world would accept to submit its Proof of Funds or financial and banking details to such an entity, or to even sign a contract with it – an entity about whom it knows practically nothing, and whose bona fides, credentials or existence as a supposed crude oil supplier, is largely dubious and unestablished.

A major, well-known, recognizable, or reputable entity or crude dealer, yes. But NOT an obscure, dubious, unknown entity, largely existing merely on the Internet.

Analysts at the JokerBroker.com website, which is a site devoted to extensive compilation of a database of the most notorious “Joker Brokers” persons and companies, sums it up this way, describing why most credible crude buyers would generally reject accepting such procedures and conditions often demanded of them by Internet brokers, outright:

“When a deal starts off with “send ICPO with BCL or Soft Probe, [POF], NCND and IMFPA,” this is “broker language.” Those that know broker language know what this means: “I’m a joker broker. I don’t have any real product for sale, and I don’t know anyone who has any, so I want you to give me an Irrevocable Purchase Order with your full financial details disclosed, so I can run around with your order and your money in my hands looking for product, and the next thing you see will be your company and banking details exposed to the whole world, running around unsecured on the Internet between thousands of other joker brokers.”… That is what this language means. I suggest you learn the language, and please do not send me even one “deal” which starts off with this procedure. Please just put them straight into the rubbish bin, which is exactly where I put them whenever anyone sends them to me.”

Kamal J. Southall, author of “Trade Fraud, and the Joker Broker,” describes the following as “some of the most notorious Joker Broker Documents”:

“The Irrevocable Purchase Order/IPO ICPO: Sometimes known as the Irrevocable Corporate Purchase Order, such a document simply does not exist. Or to put things more rudely, the ICPO is crap. There, we have said it, let the chips fall.”

SUMMARY

Here’s what might probably be called “the open secret” of the so-called secondary market oil industry: as a group, the crude oil and petroleum products sellers, and their long string of brokers, agents and intermediaries, generally close no deals nor make any sales or income out of the oil product they purport to sell, frequently after several months, even years, or perhaps for ever, of doing the business. There are several reasons which account for this. They range from the fact that most oil sellers and their brokers and other intermediaries, are fake operatives with no crude or petroleum product to sell, in the first, to lack of proper training and knowledge by these operatives in the fundamentals of the business, to the existence of certain serious drawbacks and shortcomings inherent in the fact that, bye and large, the principal source by which most brokers and agents today learn their craft today as oil dealers, is merely the Internet.

However, probably the most fundamental and most central factor of all which accounts for the above reality, could simply be condensed into one broad term: namely, the powerful pervasive grip that the “The Joker Broker” mentality has come to have on the brokers and agents, most of whom today are merely Internet-based brokers and agents. Typically lacking much experience or real understanding of international business or the way it actually works, and frequently blinded by greed and false belief that they “are going to be super rich next week or next month” by doing nothing, other than, perhaps, simply shoving around a few copied documents on the Internet, the conditions, requirements, and procedures often proposed by the “Internet” brokers and agents for prospective buyers to buy from a seller, are usually unrealistic, impracticable, outrageously unreal, even laughable and ludicrous atimes. They are unworkable conditions and requirements that are completely contrary to the way normal and legitimate business has traditionally been done in the real world. And consequently, credible buyers generally reject outright the sales offers coming from such Internet sales operatives, thus resulting in common lack of sales or commission income for such operatives, month after month, and even year after year.

For example, most of the selling offers one gets today for the sale of oil, are usually from Internet “sellers” – persons who merely claim, via an Internet communication, that they are “sellers” of crude or petroleum products with some product to sell, but typically have NO known identity, show no credible record or history of past performance as an AUTHENTIC crude seller or supplier, nor present any solid evidence that the supposed seller even exists. Yet, these mere “Internet” sellers would typically demand and expect a serious buyer of oil, to simply sign an “ICPO,” and enter into a binding contract with them committing itself to obligations valued in the several hundreds of millions of dollars with such a yet unproven and dubious Internet “sellers” (or brokers and agents), or to submit its most sensitive financial and banking details to them, etc! Demands which, clearly, virtually no credible crude oil buyer anywhere in the world would accept or submit to with merely a dubious, unknown, yet-to-be-established entity! On top of all that, add to that the reality that those harsh conditions are being demanded of intending buyers by the sellers and brokers in an oil industry that is, by all credible accounts, full of too many fakes and fraud in the contemporary oil selling industry!

And so, here you have it: why most supposed “secondary” market Internet oil sellers and their brokers and agents typically make no sales or income in their stint into crude oil and petroleum product selling business today in this Internet era, for months and years.

FOR A FOLLOW UP

What Is an AGO Oil Product or Automatic Gas Oil? Finding Authentic AGO Petroleum Supply/Supplier

A recent survey conducted by this writer on the Internet for a quick, snap shot sense of the subject matter, immediately revealed that there’s a state of relatively scanty knowledge of, or information about, this particular refined petroleum product called the AGO, among international oil dealers and suppliers. In deed, in one rather remarkable instance involving a popular ‘Ask for Answers’ online discussion portal, one reader expressly posited the question, soliciting information from the readers as to what is/was ‘the meaning’ of the petroleum term AGO, among three other refined petroleum products, which he went on to list – DPK, PMS, JET A1. There was just one response – a response that has stood the same for 5 years since. Oddly enough, however, of the 4 oil products that the answerer named, the answerer was exactly accurate in the definition he proffered on three of those. But, on ONLY one of them, the AGO product, the answer given by the answerer was somewhat slightly off, as he gave the definition of the product as meaning ‘Automotive Gas & Oils.’

So, first, we start with this basic question: What is AGO Oil Product, or the Automotive Gas Oil?

What the AGO Oil Product Is

The term AGO, which specifically stands for the Automotive Gas Oil, is the name given to the fuel type that’s used by road vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, vans, and the like) that are powered by DIESEL engines. That is, in a word, it is the diesel vehicle engine fuel. In terms of how the fuel gets to be produced or manufactured, the fuel is the type that, in the distillation and processing of crude oil work, is obtained in the mid-boiling range of that process. Related fuels which are used for non-road applications including off-road diesel engines, such as the Industrial Gas Oils (IGOs), are obtained from the same ‘fraction’ of the crude oil barrel.

Technically speaking, the term Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) is the technical name used by the oil industry in describing this particular fuel. However, in terms of the ordinary consumers in the market, the term ‘automotive diesel fuel,’ or just plain ‘diesel,’ is the more commonly used and more widespread name that the ordinary consumer uses in describing this fuel. Petroleum products are usually grouped into THREE categories: the ‘light distillates’ (LPG, gasoline, naphtha), the ‘middle’ distillates (kerosene, diesel), and the ‘heavy’ distillates and residuum (heavy fuel oil, lubricating oils, wax, asphalt). This classification is based primarily on the way crude oil is distilled and separated into fractions (called distillates and residuum). Within the oil industry, the generic oil industry name that’s used to describe gasoils – which include both AGO and IGO – fall under the ‘Middle Distillates’ category, meaning those kinds of refined oil products whose ‘boiling range’ fall in the MIDDLE, that is, between those whose range fall in the higher levels or in the lower levels. (See the Chart below). As you can readily see in the Chart below, at a Boiling Range of between 520 to 650, the AGO falls right in the middle range of most categories of the refined oil products.

The Market & Primary Uses of the AGO oil Product Among Its Customers

AGO is used in two main types of vehicles: 1) the heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks and buses, and 2) the light-duty vehicles, such as vans and passenger cars. In most countries, including the USA as well as the developing countries, the heavy-duty vehicles make up the bulk of the market for AGO. In a country such as Japan, there is a significant light-duty vehicle sector, but it is in Europe that the demand for AGO from this sector is highest, with more than one-third coming from the passenger cars and other light vehicles. Customer requirements between the two types of fuel usage differ to some extent. Diesel engines are widely used in heavy-duty vehicles. Such vehicles are frequently operated in fleets and are re-fuelled centrally with the fuel delivered directly from the supplier. In the light-duty vehicle sector, recent advances in engine design now also allow light-duty diesel engines to compete with gasoline engines in terms of the performance standards. Light-duty vehicles are generally re-fuelled through retail outlets. In any case, whether it is in the light-duty sector or in the heavy-duty sector, in both sectors the customer will generally be looking for the fuel that provides economy, power, reliability and environmental acceptability.

Use As Car Fuel

Diesel-powered vehicles, such as AGO-powered vehicles, generally have a better fuel economy than equivalent gasoline engines and produce less greenhouse gas emission. Their greater economy is due to the higher energy per-liter content of diesel fuel and the intrinsic efficiency of the diesel engine. True, petrodiesel’s higher density results in higher greenhouse gas emissions per liter compared to gasoline. However, the modern diesel-engine automobiles have a 20-40% better fuel economy, and this well offsets the higher per-liter emissions of greenhouse gases, while a diesel-powered vehicle emits 10-20 percent less greenhouse gas than comparable gasoline vehicles. Biodiesel-powered diesel engines offer substantially improved emission reductions compared to petrodiesel or gasoline-powered engines, while retaining most of the fuel economy advantages over conventional gasoline-powered automobiles.

How Crude Oil Fractions Are Processed Into Refined Oil Products, Including AGO and Other Products

How do we get to have refined petroleum products, of which a product like AGO is one? Put simply, it is out of the refinery processing (i.e., out of the ‘refining’) of crude oil that many other usable products – products that we generally refer to as refined or finished petroleum products – are produced. Meaning products such as gasoil, gasoline, kerosene, AGO, etc. The process of oil ‘refining’ or processing is a very complex one, and involves both chemical reactions and physical separations. The substance that’s called Crude Oil is composed of thousands of different ‘molecules,’ and according to chemical engineers and molecular experts, it would be nearly impossible to isolate every molecule that exists in crude oil and thereby make finished products from each molecule.

Consequently, the way chemists and engineers deal with this problem, is simply by them isolating the mixtures (also called ‘fractions’) of molecules according to what is known as the mixture’s “boiling point range.” For example, molecules for the gasoline product might boil within the ‘range’ of from 90 to 400 oF. While the range at which the home heating oil product’s molecular mixes could boil might be from 500 to 650 oF, and so on. For purposes of convenience and simplification, each mixture or fraction is assigned a specific name to identify it.

The following chart illustrates the ‘boiling range’ and name of the petroleum fractions.

Fraction

Boiling Range,oF.

Butanes and lighter

<90

Light straight run gasoline (LSR)

or light naphtha (LN)

90-190

Naphtha or heavy naphtha (HN)

190-380

Kerosene

380-520

Distillate or atmospheric gas oil (AGO)

520-650

Residua

650 +

Vacuum gas oil (VGO)

650-1000

Vacuum Residua

1000 +

In sum, refined products are products that are produced by isolating the mixtures or fractions of molecules that come from the raw crude oil, and combining them, along with those from various refinery processing units. These fractions are ‘blended’ or mixed to satisfy specific properties that are important in allowing the refined product to perform in accordance with the specifications or requirements that are designed by or in an engine, in terms of ease in handling, reducing the undesirable emissions produced when the product is burned, etc

FINDING OR OBTAINING A SUPPLY OF THE AGO

Simply stated, the KEY term and task here is finding an authentic AGO oil product supply or supplier. Or an AGO buyer, as the case may be. Why? This is simply because, today, in the international refined oil products trading market, specially in the so-called “secondary” market, probably the single most fundamental and most difficult common problem which legitimate dealers who seek to find reliable suppliers have, is often NOT so much finding a party who will claim heaven and earth that he/she has the AGO oil product to sell and can supply you the product. Or that he can buy one from you, as the case may be. BUT finding such a party who is actually AUTHENTIC & LEGITIMATE, and can actually DELIVER on the product.

MOST PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY’RE SUPPLIERS OF PRODUCT PROVIDE NO VERIFIED OR VERIFIABLE PROOFS OR SOURCES

A well-established reality and a given today, is that in world oil deals involving trading in the crude oil and refined petroleum products, specially in the so-called international “secondary” market, probably the single most fundamental and most difficult common problem which legitimate buyers frequently confront today, is the problem of the genuineness and authenticity of the supplier of product and his ability to deliver on the sales offer he presents. Refined petroleum products, such as AGO, D2, Mazut, Jet fuel, etc., are certainly not immune or exempt from such endemic problem that seems to plague the entire secondary market oil trade industry, but rather are, in deed, right in the middle of it.

It’s a problem whose central source can simply be summed up in one word – namely, that not unlike most persons or entities who claim via the Internet to be oil or petroleum products suppliers or “sellers,” most who claim to be suppliers of AGO, as well (or of similar refined oil products, such as the diesel gasoil or Russian D2, Mazut, Jet fuels, and the like), either provide NO proofs or evidence at all of that, or provide proofs or evidence that are often absolutely meaningless because they’re unverified and unverifiable. That is, for the serious or credible Internet petroleum buyer involved in the world oil deals and seriously intent on finding duly verifiable authentic AGO oil product supply or supplier, there are generally just NO such supply or suppliers of the product in the so-called “secondary” market.

Most such serious or genuine AGO buyers (or suppliers, as well, as the case may be) seeking to find equally genuine AGO suppliers (or sellers seeking buyers, when applicable) in the international secondary market, find that the problem is particularly acute and compounded by the fact that almost all “sellers” (or suppliers), or their brokers or intermediaries, that one meets on the Internet, are essentially unknown, unestablished dealers who lack any name, reputation or identity, or any known location on the planet, and lack any record or history of past performance in doing the business. In consequence, a serious AGO buyer, for example, is often being asked – and actually being realistically expected – to, in effect, merely take “the word” of some dubious, anonymous, unidentified and apparently unidentifiable, phantom “seller” or “supplier” for it, with no credible supporting evidence provided, and no verification or authentication whatsoever of the Internet seller’s offer or claims.

In sum, he’s being asked – and actually being expected – to risk, or, rather, to gamble away, his hard-earned mini-fortune of some hundreds of millions of dollars merely on such a “word.”! This, it should be added, is being expected of the buyer in a business environment and climate that is patently awash in fraud and a network of notorious scammers worldwide!

WHERE TO BUY AGO OIL PRODUCT, HOW DO YOU FIND THE SUPPLIERS?

Clearly, then, if you are a real buyer of product seriously intent on finding authentic diesel AGO oil product supply or suppliers (or those of any similar refined oil products, such as the diesel gasoil or Russian D2, Mazut, Jet fuels, and the like) – meaning one that is duly verified and verifiable – probably the most critical, vital, even life-or-death task for you, is that you had better be sure to develop, in some way or manner, a skilled and effective strategy for finding, vetting, selecting out and authenticated suppliers that can provide you reliable steady supply of the product, and which will be scam-free, assured, and long-lasting.

How?

Quite oddly enough, the answer to that question is actually not that complicated or complex. For our limited purposes here, suffice it simply to just say, that there is, in fact, such a methodology, tool and strategy for doing just that long in practical use in the industry. Long in practical use by knowledgeable, experienced and trained eyes and experts, and the successful traders, in the business. If you are, yourself, in fact a provable legitimate trader or authentic practitioner of the petroleum trade (assuming you are actually one) operating in the secondary market, and are truly serious about finding and securing authentic and reliable AGO oil product supply or supplier, or about finding and securing a buyer of equivalent caliber for the product, as the case may be, that’s actually readily within your reach. There’s just really one crucial proviso, only – namely, PROVIDING that you’re equipped with the requisite knowledge, skill, training, tool, methodology and practical experience, by which to undertake the whole process of doing so.

To be sure, true, in today’s world oil deals of the international secondary market, including sourcing for AGO product, which is largely an Internet-dominated world, and is for the most part prevalently awash in fake dealers and scammers, finding duly verified authentic petroleum or automotive gas oil product supply, suppliers and sellers of such caliber (or buyers, just as well), is not ordinary or commonplace. Nor is it at all an easy task to attain. It is, however, by no means impracticable, nor are such suppliers non-existent. Far, far from it! Quite to the contrary, such suppliers abound. It’s only that you just have to search around for such suppliers (or the legitimate buyers, as well, as the case may be) more diligently and skillfully and in the right places from the right sources, and know precisely how and where. That requires, unavoidably, supreme industry knowledge, skills set, training, know-how, connections, precious time expenditure, and experience.

FOR A FOLLOW UP

YOU WANT TO FOLLOW UP ON HOW TO FIND AUTHENTIC AGO OIL PRODUCT SUPPLY OR SUPPLIERS, OR EVEN BUYERS, THAT ARE ALREADY VERIFIED, CONFIRMED AND VERIFIABLE AND SCAM-FREE? Please see the link provided in the author’s Resource Box below.

Agarwood Oil – Gold of India

Agarwood (botanical name:Aquillaria agollocha) is one of the precious among all communities. In ancient time, it was used for making Incense Sticks, so in Hindi incense still is called “Agar Batti”. Here Agar – Agarwood Dust and Batti – Burning Stick. Some newcomers of essential oils business think why it is so costly, costing around $ 25000 USD /liter . The reason is simple, low yield from plant material, typical and labor intensive process of extraction and less demand in the market. These are all very few reasons of high costing of Agarwood Oil.

Process is quite typical, the people of Upper Assam Region, India go to the far peaks of mountains (Himalayas) for finding the good trees after that put a insect all over the trees which make the tree fungicide. Here the fungicide area will provide the mystical fragrance of Agarwood. Now, the expert workers collect those cultivated trees, extract the fungicide area using special knives, and then collect the fungicidal wood of Agarwood and further put it into a water tank for 4- 6 months. During this period, there are a lot of fungi arrive on the tank and now the wood become proper mature for extraction of essential oils.

After distillation, producer receive the good quality Agarwood oil with having the great smell of Agarwood Oil or Oud. Above is the process also used to develop several grades of Agarwood oil, It means, the rest wood in which the fingi not worked due to lack of time, also used for distillation and get some qualities of Agarwood oil called “Boya” and “Kunda” . Some supplier named it like Grade A for Superior quality Agarwood oil, Grade B for Kunda and Grade C for Boya. The Boya quality Agarwood Oil is quite thick and hard to pour,but if we put it into hot water , It will melt and take the property of Grade A. The Boya and Kunda is highly used in natural perfumery because it will blend with any essential oil.

One of the major pitfall is its cost , in result it is becoming one of most adulterated essential oil of the world. People of trading areas are selling it in $ 500 to $ 1500 USD /liter range which is impossible to produce naturally. Buyer should try to get more information from seller to get the idea whether he/she is selling the natural Agarwood or not. Natural Agarwood will cost around $ 25000 USD /liter in India and due to its scarcity , one should buy it only from producer , not from trader. Producer can only provide the real Agarwood oil (Aquillaria agollocha) from Assam.

Agarwood Oil – Grade A , have a long lasting property. If we put 1 drop of Agarwood on foreskin near right hand’s elbow and smell it after 24 hours, one will be astonished as there is still smelling pure agarwood. It is basically used in Natural Perfumery for long lasting and for increase weight in Natural Perfume.

There are some more reasons why it is becoming more rare as Assam, India is having some intruders trouble, some tribes don’t want Non Assamese persons over there but as soon as the time will go, everything will be normalize.

Rethinking The Oil Change Business Venture

Annual quick lube survey, is it still viable?

I wish to comment on the Fast Lube Business and the annual survey done by Auto Laundry News, one of the few Industry Magazines for the car wash industry. In this 2001 survey, we see an increase on the number of locations out there. Yet the leader of the Industry is by far Jiffy Lube. We see variations on theme, but we can safely say that Jiffy Lube has adapted best to the American public and their desires when it comes to oil changes.

This survey showed the average customer would drive 5.7 miles to get an oil change. If 50% of the customers would drive 5.7 miles and 80% of the customers usually come from a three-mile radius to get a car wash, I see additional synergy. These car washes with oil lube centers are getting a further reach than the industry average. This is great news for those carwashes adding oil lube bays, but also it takes up space and if not marketed correctly it will not work. The survey was quick to show that oil change facilities do best in middle class areas, not high-end areas. They do poorly in low-income areas. This all makes sense. Free standing car washes were the most likely to have oil lube facilities on there properties. Interesting too is that minimum wage was not prevailing, normally the companies pay $8.00-10.00 per hour. Makes realistic sense and I believe good help starts in this country at $10.00 per hour in most metros and $8.00 hour in rural.

Only 23% of the fast lubes had a website. Only half had internet access in the locations. Average employees were 5 full time and 3 part timers. Luckily for the image of this industry 74% had specific uniforms. The average shop had 3 bays, not enough to do the volume if adequate blitz marketing and community based marketing were taking place. Average revenue was $32.00 per car. That is an awful lot of upselling since the average advertised price that I have noticed is around $19.99. Less than 30% were open on Sundays? Bad mistake since there is no time to change oil and wait in line for most Americans. Average monthly gross was $2,400.00 per month per bay?

This is shit, this is not even a viable business, these people are wasting their time. Think about it, you have cost of oil and filter too and labor? Forget that news. I question the viability of the entire oil change industry. The largest Jiffy Lube franchisee in the country with 180 units was de-listed from NASDAQ and so was another prominent auto care and lube company recently. I like the Kwik-Lube Company and feel they are doing it right, but also question the ROI of such an endeavor seeing these results and the cost to build the building and time to build it. One good thing that the oil lube bays have going for them is the up-sell, but as the consumer dollar gets tighter and the credit card debt gets higher and the fall out rates increase where will this extra impulse revenue and up-sell cash be coming form?

The Industry is still expanding and new entrants to the market place are hurting existing units and I question the saturation point, not on need, but on desire. No one wants to spend money on oil changes, they need to. People buy what they want, satellite TV and beer. Not what they need, so I see a frequency problem issue brewing and people waiting 5-6-7 thousand miles between changes. So I believe that if an oil lube bay is not already attached to another reason to frequent the facility it will soon be in desire straits. The survey also showed that 93% OF THE OIL LUBE BAYS USED ADVERTISING TO GET THEIR CUSTOEMRS? WHY? We do not advertise, word of mouth and happy customers advertise for us. There you go again more cost.

Also 60% of the surveyed said that competition was discounting. HMMM? You have labor costs that are high, frequency is down, new car technology on the horizon, cost of oil going to the big guys and throw in a price war? I see problem as the non-savvy operators leave facilities for sale and exit the market place. By eliminating the facility and going mobile with the existing customer base of let’s say a mobile truck repair business which can co-band and fleet services available you could beat these other companies since they running redline over saturations of mailer coupons and phone book ads and no web sites. Many companies are not watching the changing demographics at their locations and lease or property costs and unable to sell or borrow more due to their lousy profit margins. And what can you convert and Oil change bay into? Cover up the hole for a tire shop? What happens when Hydrogen cell comes and no one changes oil. Can you convert to filter type operation? Not really since often the tires and wheels are offset and will land the modular car into the lube bay hole. We have the solution and we can beat them in almost every aspect. Some consultants have said; “Bunch of dummies copying each other.”

Listen to this part of the survey, advertising dollars were spent on, here is where the respondents said they advertised; TV 15%, Direct Mail 51%, Radio 38%, Newspaper 35%, Bill Boards 18%, Yellow Pages 53%, other only 13%. Scary, all that costs money and everybody is running redline copying each other. This is what happens when people cannot think any longer and cannot adapt and do business at the speed of thought,

[http://www.speedofthought.com]

81% of respondents said they would honor competitor’s coupons? Whatever, why print them then. Let everyone else spend the money and take theirs? 80% said they have tried to use discounting to lure customers from other lube places to theirs. Boy this sounds like the carpet cleaning industry to me.

Breakdown in costs per job. 10% rent or property, 3% maintenance of facility, 26% labor, 30% materials, 4% utilities and many reported expecting that to double and some have already in the west experienced a tripling. Insurance 4% and that to expected to keep rising and some said 8%, Customer claims for damage 1%, this is in-excusable, Advertising 10%. Want to add those up for me. Why are they doing it?

Average new facility costs were; Land $206,000, Improvements $505,000, New equipment $36,000. WOW all that for little or no return? Average number of competitors within 10-mile radius? 36% said 3, 19% said two, 19% said 5, 7% said 5 or more. How can anyone invest this kind of money per location when we can build a couple of units for a total of $65,000 and nearly equal the number of potential vehicles to service? Also with AAA building oil change facilities and Wal-Mart getting into things, the competition will be bloody and that is a lot of money to invest in a business with an uncertain future. Not a good bet, if you were a betting man.

We are very much liking this Industry because we know things the Industry does not and we can slam them because they have missed the boat. We have seen a few companies which are looking into ways to change the oil on the water for yachts. What is even better is that they all missed the boat at the same time and are fighting on shore for a few little boats to get to the ship that is leaving the harbor. Who will survive this oil change war. The one who bests services the customer, they way the customer wishes to be serviced.

Uncle Sam’s Snake Oil

Uncle Sam and his band of merry-men, better known as Congress, have been pushing snake oil on the unsuspecting public in the form of retirement plans. But wait, isn’t a pension plan one of the perks we look to when shopping for an employer? Well, not all pension planning is created equal and in most cases, quite disastrous.

Distributions from all qualified plans must begin no later than April 1st of the calendar year following the year that the participant attains age 70 1/2, or the calendar year in which the employee retires. Special rules apply if the distribution is made to a 5 percent owner of the business. The purpose of minimum distribution rules for retirement plans is to force the owner or participant of the pension plan to withdraw money from the plans, thus triggering an income tax on these monies. On April 16, 2002, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations as to these distributions.

Generally, the idea pursuant to the regulations is to have the owner or participant of the pension plan begin taking the money out of the pension plan beginning at the later of when he finishes working or age 70.5. One purpose of this is to insure that these monies will be subject to income tax prior to the death of the owner.

Based on the current system the government has created with pension plans, the average retired couple will pay eight to twelve times more in taxes on their IRAs and 401(k)s during their retirement years than they saved during their contribution and accumulation years. Generally, it is understood that you put money into your pension plan and tax is deferred and this is a great thing. Unfortunately, you may well be in a higher tax bracket if your pension accumulation is done right.

In addition to a higher tax bracket upon reaching retirement, many people find themselves with a free and clear home; they no longer have mortgage interest deductions to offset income tax. Many Americans find they are now paying back everything they saved in taxes during their accumulation and contributions years within the first two years of distributions. Therefore, there is an insidious income tax awaiting most people and if they didn’t plan their estates, double taxation in the form of both income and estate tax.

Many postpone the transfer of their qualified funds until age 59 ½ in order to avoid the 10% tax penalty. Sometimes by delaying the payment of taxes, retirees will find themselves in a higher tax bracket after age 59 ½ because Congress could raise tax rates because of a political change. Inevitably, one must pay the piper now or later.

What is the answer? Simple, investment grade life insurance. This type of life insurance is not the same as the one you get countless letters about in the mail. This is life insurance that is focused on building up a triple compound because it is tax deferred. The difference between the deferral that life insurance experiences and pension plans is that when it comes time for payout, life insurance is received as a loan. This is a powerful concept because the proceeds will not be taxed; loans are not a form of taxable income. However, as a loan you will have interest on the payments. Most people mistakenly think they are going to pay interest on their own money with life insurance. While in theory that is true, the best insurance carriers provide for zero wash loans where the interest basically is forgiven or taken out of the death benefit when a person passes on. We are talking about real life insurance not the typical death insurance that most people have because you use it while you’re alive.

The best candidates for creating amazing wealth with investment grade life insurance are those in the age rages of thirty to fifty. Once committed and in the proper product it is foreseeable they will retire wealthy and without the annoying taxation that surrounds a pension plan. There are even strategies to start a contribution plan to your investment that only requires repositioning your current finances. To see a presentation on ways to finance your retirement go to [http://www.abundantmoney.com].

If you are over fifty, I’m sorry we missed you. If you have children don’t let another day go by without them starting a plan because 79 million people are heading for the social security hand out in the next few years. Despite Social Security getting a 2.7 percent boost next year (2005), Medicare will eat up much of the increase and when the 79 million qualifying Americans sign-up – look out below.

James Burns, Esq.

Law Office of James Burns

18662 MacArthur Blvd., 2nd Floor

Irvine, CA. 92656

Jambur64@cox.net

(949) 440-3243

Oil Rig Jobs – Working Aboard the Petronius Oil Platform

For a a few hardy, industrious men a 2,000 foot high metal behemoth of a rig in the Gulf of Mexico is home; well two weeks out of every four, that is. They work, sleep and relax aboard the Petronius oil platform, operated by Marathon Oil and the Chevron corporation.

The Petronius is one of the most mindboggling of all the giant oil platforms scattered across the oceans of the world. Named for the Roman writer it was the world’s tallest free standing structure until 2008 when it was suppassed by the Burj Dubai. The platform serves 14 different wells outputting millions of barrels of oil. At over 500 million dollars the Petronius is one of the most expensive offshore civil construction projects in the world

Working aboard the rig is one the most hazardous jobs there is. Oil rigs are usually dozens or hundreds of miles from land and bear the brunt of some of the harshest weather that mother nature unleashes. Rocked and rolled by waves, ripped at by gales and frozen by bitter cold – these are just some of the natural hazards an oil rig is subjected to. For the average rig worker the man-made dangers can be even more of a threat. Swinging cranes, the constant moving of heavy equipment, dangerous power tools which can rend a limb from a body in a second and being only a short drop from near certain death into an ocean seventy five metres below take more than a few lives each year.

So what attracts men to work far out at sea, living in cramped quarters of up to four to a room in one of the most hazardous jobs in the world? Well one thing is the money. On the Petronius salaries start at about $50k a year, which is a great starting salary for relatively unskilled work. Those with trade qualifications and skills, and those with several years of experience can command six figure salaries.

Another draw to oil rig jobs is the generous time off. Workers aboard the Petronius work a two weeks on, two weeks off schedule. This means that they typically work less than six months of the year and still earn a very competitive wage. While they are on board the Petronius the oil rig workers are also more than amply fed, noshing down on four hearty meals a day, all of which are included in their compensation package. Recreation facilities on the ‘floating town’ also include a gym and satellite TV to fill the few hours that the men are not hard at work. These oil rig jobs are tough, but they aren’t without their own rewards.

Even though this work is noisy, in a remote location and the work conditions are high risk, employment aboard the Petronius and other oil platforms still has a huge draw for a certain kind of man. Tough, resilient, hardworking and perhaps slightly thrilled by the threat of danger there is a constant stream of hardy men applying for these jobs. Although they work hard aboard the rig, most of them more than make up for it in their time off. If you have ever seen a rig worker on his frequent leave, you will know that they know how to ‘unwind’ in style.

How to Start an Oil Extraction Factory for Edible Oil

The concept of extracting edible oil from seeds such as olives, soya beans and groundnuts is on the rise globally. For instance, in the United States of America alone, there is an annual production averaging more than 16 billion pounds. This huge production can be attributed to the increasing demand for edible oils. As the living standards or people continue to improve, so does the consumption of edible oils. It is used for various purposes such as cooking. Therefore, the extraction of edible oil is a profitable venture that in most cases rewards manufacturers with profitable returns. Although it is not difficult to start an oil extraction factory, the below steps will help to simplify the process further. They are the primary steps that have to be followed for one to start a successful oil extraction factory.

The first step to starting any successful business venture lies in the ability to have enough knowledge about the business. Thus, the first step would be to know more about the edible oil industry, its trends, and the factors influencing it. The edible oil industry information or data can be sourced from the internet, government agencies or from the already established edible oil manufacturing industries. An investor can seek the opinion and view of an expert in the edible oil industry to get a more informed opinion about the market trends. Also, this will give you an opportunity to know more about the different firm in the market that you will come to compete with.

Second, create a business plan for the manufacturing venture. A business plan will act as the guide or central reference point for the business. The importance of planning is best captured in the popular cliché’ failing to plan is planning to fail’. Without a business plan, the oil extraction factory set up venture will fail. In fact, it might not even takeoff. When coming up with the business plan, it is advisable to engage the services of an expert in the field. He/she will help you to create a comprehensive business plan that covers all aspects of the manufacturing process. A business plan is basically a formal statement that highlights the goals of the business, and plans of achieving these goals. Also, the business plan will contain sections that cover the financial needs of starting the manufacturing plant. Without enough funds or capital, the business might stall on the way. Hence, a business plan will help you to know the cost of the venture (cost such as equipment costs, transport costs, capital for running the plant, and wage costs), and the subsequent sources of capital needed to start it. A business plan will clarify the target market for the product and how to gain a competitive edge or advantage in the market.

Third, figure out where you will get your raw materials. Raw materials are the backbone of the manufacturing plant. Without the raw materials, the plant will not. Also, during this step, it is vital to know the type of materials that will be used for the oil extraction since edible oil can be processed from many sources. Availability of the relevant raw materials is also a major factor. The raw materials should be adequate enough for the business to run. A small source will be depleted quickly. Since edible oil is extracted from arable grains, the investor can decide to plant his or her own raw materials or buy them from another party.

Location has a significant effect on the success of the manufacturing business. The plant should be located near the source of raw materials. This will help reduce the transportation costs incurred when moving the raw materials from the field to the factory.

Fifth, apply for the relevant licensees and certification from the state or federal authorities. This will make you to run a legal and licensed edible oil extraction business. You can be arrested and charged if you run a business without a license.

Lastly, get the funding of the project and subsequently purchase the plant equipment, hire employees, and advertise the business.

These steps if followed strictly will make the process of starting an oil extraction factory for edible oil easy and simple.

How to Establish a Mustard Seeds Oil Mill Plant

Starting a mustard oil mill project does not demand massive machinery operations; anyone who thoroughly understands the procedure and has right equipment can work on the plan. The business setup won’t require a great space for machinery placement, all you need it is, to begin with, the traditional program and converting it into an oil mill plant.

Steps to follow to establish a Mustard Seeds Oil Mill Plant:

1. Search for the appropriate land

The primary factor that you should keep in mind is to look for a place that has easy availability of raw material, i.e., mustard seeds. Marketing is an essential point that impacts any business. Once, you have found the place, start looking for the area where you can set up mustard oil machines. If you don’t have a huge budget, get an idea of the mustard oil mill plant cost to make your dream come true.

2. Get some knowledge about the Mustard Oil Operation

Every year, mustard grow in plenty amount. The cost of raw material relies on the availability and quality of ingredients required for the milling of oil. To take the things smoothly; proper processing of seeds, packing, and shipment is necessary. Once your plan is ready, start working on trials and get an estimation of the profit amount.

3. Research on Mustard Oil Production Process

The Milling process is straightforward: the mustard seeds are extracted from mustard plants (sarso in Hindi), yellow and black varieties are considered best for oil processing technique. The colour of oil depends on the type of species used to extract the oil.

After the selection of seeds, they are sent for quality testing; moisture test, impurity test, colour test and ingredient content test are some of the standard examinations done on the raw material. After this, the raw material is received by the cleaning section, here, stone and wood particles are removed from the stock.

The cleaned seeds are directed to the storage container; they go through hoopers for intensive cleaning. From this step, oil starts to process from the seeds and this step is known as for press processing. Before sending this oil to the next level, it is tested for moisture, temperature and oil content.

The crushed seeds are collected in the expeller area where they are precisely ground with the conveyers and elevators in the mustard oil machines. The produced oil is tested for impurity, thickness, and colour. Then, the oil is sent to raw oil storing collector.

In the refining section, further impurities are removed from the stock and sent for the quality testing. The odour level is also checked in the tank. The processed oil is then passed through the filters for chemical and acid testing.

4. Packaging, marketing, advertising and distribution of processed Mustard Oil

The double filtered oil is then collected into storage tanks for final testing, if it has passed all the specifications, it is sent for packaging. The processed oil is packed and distributed to the store owners.

From the processed mustard seeds, pressed cakes are manufactured. These cakes are highly nutritious for animals. They are used as a supplementary agent in private farms and dairies. Hope! The above information helped you and enriched your knowledge for your next business idea.