Tell Me About The American Petroleum Institute

by William Davies
(UK)

The American Petroleum Institute (or API) is a US trade group which represents the oil and natural gas industry.

Members of API can range from the large multinational oil corporations like Exxon to small independent producers or distributors, coming from different sectors of the petroleum industry.

As someone who may be looking at crude oil from a commodity trading persepctive, you may very well be keen to learn what information API makes available on a regular basis.

One major example is the data which API releases on energy inventory on a weekly basis. This information is normally released at the same time as data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)but will soon be available a day earlier.

From 27 January the API will release its energy data on Tuesday's, to be followed by the EIA on Wednesday's.

One of the main commodity market benchmarks to be influenced by these data is the key Nymex light, sweet crude oil futures price.

This indicator also referred to as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) plays a major role in setting the mood and trend among commodity traders in the world oil markets, along with ICE Brent crude traded on ICE Futures Europe.

While commodity traders will make significant use of a chosen commodity trading system as part of their technical analysis, these data from API contribute to the overall assessment based on a fundamental analysis of where the world oil market is headed.

The API has other key roles such as being the "press officer" of the US petroleum business, an interface with the public so as to help achieve the policy objectives of the organisation.

The group also represents members at all levels of government through use of extensive lobbying, while also acting for members in legal matters concerning the industry and its operations.

As well as having a key input into the educational process through conferences and symposia, API sets benchmarks for manufacturers of equipment used in the industry as well as certification for health, safety and environmental requirements.