Abstract
The natural state of the oil market is competition, and oligopolistic structures that have dominated it for many decades are the result of either government inaction to regulate market power or a very deliberate government policy to create national champions, often with wider geopolitical agendas. Even competitive markets need government support and protection, achieved by providing solid legal and regulatory framework and removing obstacles to free trade. Since 1980s oil market became fairly competitive again, and we entered the age of benchmarks, in which Brent became the dominant global price of oil.
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Imsirovic, A. (2023). The Age of Oil Benchmarks. In: Imsirovic, A. (eds) Brent Crude Oil. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28232-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28232-4_2
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