The Rivers of Money: Social and Economic History of Modern Oil Trading

Modern oil trading, as we know it today, has its roots in the 1970s, especially after the collapse of the vertically integrated structure of the oil industry, controlled by oil majors. Oil trading flourished in the 1980s, following the energy liberalisation policies in the UK and US. In the process, the largest trading companies such as Vitol, Trafigura, Marcuria and others have taken on new roles in the industry, including financing of major new projects. The authors Adi Imsirovic and Colin Bryce have participated in oil trading during its pivotal years and through knowledge of the industry, experience and contacts hope to bring to life this period in rich details with key industry interviews. A serious academic study of the social history of modern trading but written in a way that makes it accessible to a wider audience, this book will be of interest to anyone involved in finance, economics, energy, policy, and trading.

Adi Imsirovic is a lecturer at the Master’s course in Energy Systems, Department of Engineering, University of Oxford. He is also a Senior Associate (Non-resident), in the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.

Adi Imsirovic has 35 years of experience in oil trading. He has held a number of senior trading positions, including global head of oil at Gazprom Marketing & Trading and regional manager of Texaco oil trading for Asia. Dr. Imsirovic was a Fulbright scholar and studied at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. For a number of years, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

Adi has a PhD in economics and a master’s degree in energy economics. He has written a number of papers and articles on the topic of oil and gas prices, benchmarks, and energy security. Adi is the author of two books: Trading and Price Discovery for Crude Oils: Growth and Development of International Oil Markets, published by Palgrave in August 2021, and International Oil Markets in the Age of Climate Change, published by Palgrave in July 2024. Adi also edited the book Brent Crude Oil: Genesis and Development of the World’s Most Important Oil Benchmark, published by Palgrave in June 2023.

Colin Bryce began his career in 1978 in the Oil Pricing Unit of the British National Oil Corporation (BNOC) after earning a degree in Geography and Political Economy from the University of Glasgow. In 1982, he joined Britoil’s Supply and Trading division before moving to Morgan Stanley in 1987 to help establish its Oil Trading business outside the United States.

During his tenure at Morgan Stanley, Colin held several senior leadership roles, including Co-Head of Global Commodities, Head of EMEA Institutional Sales and Trading (covering Equities, Fixed Income, and Commodities), and Chairman of Morgan Stanley Bank International Ltd. He also served for 19 years on the board of Morgan Stanley & Co Ltd and was a member of the firm’s Global Management Committee.

A founding partner of the energy consultancy Energex Partners, Colin is also co-owner, alongside his wife, of Laundry Cottage Stud Farm. In his free time, he enjoys watching rugby, playing the piano, and flying light aircraft.