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EBF 301 - Global Finance for the Earth, Energy, and Materials Industries

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This course is offered as part of the Open Educational Resources initiative of Penn State's John A. Dutton e-Education Institute. You are welcome to use and reuse materials that appear on this site (other than those copyrighted by others) subject to the licensing agreement linked to the bottom of this and every page.

Students who register for this Penn State course gain access to assignments and instructor feedback, and earn academic credit. Learn more about our program and how to register.

Registered students should begin with the Orientation and Course Information Module in Canvas.

Quick Facts about EBF 301

• Instructor - Zhongyang He, John and Willie Leone Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University.
• Course Authors - Farid Tayari and Tom Seng, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University.
• Overview - EBF 301 will cover the physical and financial aspects of the following energy commodities – crude, natural gas, natural gas liquids and, gasoline. The physical “path” of each commodity from the point of production to the point of use will be explained, as well as, the “value chain” that exists for each. Commodity market pricing, both cash and financial, will be presented, encompassing industry “postings” for cash, commodity exchanges and, “over-the-counter” markets. The use of financial derivatives to reduce market & price risk (“hedging”) will be presented and “real world” examples will be utilized.
• Learning Environment - This website provides the primary instructional materials for the course. The Resources menu links to important supporting materials, while the Lessons menu links to the course lessons. Canvas, Penn State's course management system, is used to support the delivery of this course as well, as it provides the primary communications, calendaring, and submission tools for the course.
• Topics of Study - The content of this course is divided into 12 lessons. Each lesson will be completed in approximately 1 week.
  • Lesson 1 -The Energy Industry – Overall Perspective
  • Lesson 2 - Supply/Demand Fundamentals for Natural Gas & Crude Oil
  • Lesson 3 -The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) & Energy Contracts
  • Lesson 4 - Cash Market Pricing Methodologies & Publications
  • Lesson 5 - Crude Oil Logistics & Value Chain
  • Lesson 6 - Natural Gas Logistics & Value Chain/US LNG Exports & Global Markets
  • Lesson 7 - Basic Energy Risk “Hedging” using Financial Derivatives
  • Lesson 8 - Quantitative Methods and Energy Risk Management
  • Lesson 9 - Technical Analysis
  • Lesson 10 - Advanced Financial Derivatives - Swaps, Spreads, and Options
  • Lesson 11 - Risk Controls in Energy Commodity Trading
  • Lesson 12 - Risk Management in the Electricity Market