The thesis deals with the analysis of the oil market with emphasis on the period from 2010 to May 2017. The aim of the thesis is to test the sensitivity of the oil price to the selected fundamental indicators and trading positions of the traders according to CFTC data. The work, in addition to the theoretical introduction, contains information on key fundamentals such as US oil production, the process of publishing reports on the state of oil stocks in the US, and the process of publishing reports on oil market traders' positions and subsequent data analysis. It confirmed that the price of oil correlates significantly with traders' positions, but the Granger test suggested that the change in the price of oil is causally affecting the position of traders and not vice versa.

Dans les réservoirs silicoclastiques, la perte de porosité avec l'enfouissement est due à la fois à la compaction mécanique lors des 2-3 premiers kilomètres d'enfouissement, à la compaction chimique, et à la précipitation minérale (quartz, argiles, carbonates). Dès lors, la compréhension des processus responsables de l'inhibition de la compaction et/ou de la cimentation représente un triple enjeu: i) contribuer à la connaissance des mécanismes d'interactions eau-hydrocarbures-solides en milieu diagénétique profond; ii) apporter de nouveaux arguments pour reconstituer les chemins de migration des fluides à l'échelle du bassin iii) développer des guides de prospection pour l'industrie pétrolière. Les techniques analytiques telles que la pétrographie quantitative, les inclusions fluides ainsi que les modélisations diagénétiques et de bassin ont été couplées afin de comprendre les processus régissant le contrôle de la qualité du réservoir du Brent (Jurassique Moyen) à travers 8 champs pétroliers (et 11 puits) dans le bloc Q3 (Viking Graben, Northern North Sea). L'étude pétrographique quantitative du réservoir du Tarbert a permis de définir des compositions minéralogiques et des paramètres pétrophysiques (porosité) relativement similaires sur les 183 échantillons étudiés. Une paragenèse diagénétique commune à tous les champs étudiés a été établie, dominée par les ciments de quartz, de deux générations de kaolinite (K1, associée à la déstabilisation des micas et K2, associée à la dissolution des feldspaths potassiques), et de précipitation d'illite. L'approche comparative des ciments d'enfouissement n'a pas permis de rendre compte des larges gammes de porosité et perméabilité mesurées allant de 8 à 27 % et de 0,2 à 5000 mD. Contrairement au modèle diagénétique souvent évoqué, l'inhibition des ciments de quartz ne joue pas un rôle majeur dans la préservation de la porosité des réservoirs du bloc Q3. Les estimations P-V-T-X-t du piégeage des inclusions fluides couplées au modèle de bassin ont permis de reconstituer trois chemins de migration des fluides aqueux et hydrocarbonés associés à la mise en place de surpressions fluides au sein des réservoirs du Tarbert. 1) La partie Nord de la kitchen du Viking Graben alimente les champs de Hild, Jura et Islay en huiles légères très précocement (65-42 Ma) et en gaz à condensat à partir de 35-15 Ma. Ces deux migrations sont associées à une montée en surpression fluide du réservoir de 100 à 200 bar. 2) la partie Est de la kitchen de l'East Shetland alimente les champs d'Alwyn, Dunbar, et Grant en huiles lourdes à légères à partir de 42-35 Ma, associée à une faible surpression fluide (30-40 bar). 3) la partie Sud de la kitchen de l'East Shetland (longue distance de migration) alimente quant à elle les champs de Forvie Central et North très tardivement en gaz à condensat (> 15 Ma). Le timing relatif entre la mise en place de la surpression fluide et l'avancement de la compaction mécanique/chimique s'est révélé être le paramètre de premier ordre régissant la préservation de la porosité des réservoirs observée dans le bloc Q3. La présence d'inclusions hydrocarbonées atypiques HT-BP (haute température-basse pression) datées du Jurassique supérieur dans les champs proches du Viking Graben, pourrait être à l'origine d'une génération d?hydrocarbures très précoce sous un régime de pression hydrostatique. Bien que n'ayant aucun impact sur l'inhibition de la contrainte effective, cette migration fluide pourrait être attribuée aux anomalies thermiques du Nord-Ouest de l'Europe liée à l'ouverture de l'Atlantique Nord. Le couplage des outils de pétrographie quantitative, inclusions fluides et modélisation de bassin a donc permis de soulever l'importance d'intégrer une vision régionale à l'étude ponctuelle de la diagenèse dans le but de comprendre le rôle des migrations fluides sur la préservation de la qualité des réservoirs silicoclastiques / In siliciclastic reservoirs, porosity loss is mainly due to the mechanical compaction in the first 2-3 km of burial, the chemical compaction and mineral precipitation (quartz, clays, carbonates). Therefore, understanding the processes responsible of the inhibition of compaction and/or cementation permits to: i) contribute to the knowledge of the water-hydrocarbon-solid interaction mechanisms in deep diagenetic environment, ii) give new arguments for the reconstruction of fluid pathways at the basin scale iii) assist the oil industry for the intensive exploration. Analytical techniques such as quantitative petrography, fluid inclusion and basin/diagenesis modelling were coupled across 8 oil fields (and 11 wells) located in the Q3 block (Viking Graben, Northern North Sea) in order to understand the processes driving the variation of the Brent reservoir quality (Middle Jurassic). Quantitative petrographic study of Tarbert reservoir allowed to define similar depositional settings (mineralogy, porosity) among the 183 studied samples. The common diagenetic paragenesis is dominated by quartz cement, two generations of kaolinite (K1, associated with the destabilization of micas and K2, associated with the dissolution of feldspars), and precipitation of illite. The petrographic data do not explain the wide range of measured porosity and permeability on plugs from 8 to 27% and from 0.2 to 5000 mD respectively. In contrast with the conventional diagenetic model, the present study shows that inhibition of quartz cements did not play a major role in the preservation of porosity in the Q3 block. P-V-T-X-t estimates of fluid inclusion trapping coupled with basin modelling allowed reconstruction of three fluid migration pathways, associated with fluid overpressures in the Tarbert reservoir. 1) The northern part of the Viking Graben kitchen supplies Hild, Jura and Islay fields with an early migration of light oils (65-42 m.y.) and condensate from 35-15 m.y. Both migrations are associated with a great fluid overpressure from 100 to 200 bar. 2) The eastern part of the East Shetland kitchen supplies Alwyn, Dunbar, Grant fields, with heavy to light oils from 42-35 m.y., associated with a low fluid overpressure (30-40 bar). 3) The southern part of the East Shetland kitchen (long distance migration) supplies Forvie North and Central fields with a very late gas condensate migration (> 15 Ma). The relative timing of the fluid overpressure build-up with the degree of mechanical and chemical compaction appears to be the first order parameter governing the preservation of reservoir porosity across the Q3 block. The presence of unusual HT-LP (high temperature-low pressure) hydrocarbon inclusions in the fields near the graben could indicate an early heavy oil generation under hydrostatic pressure conditions. Although having no impact on the inhibition of effective stress, this high-temperature fluid migration could be attributed to thermal anomalies in the Northwest of Europe related to the North Atlantic opening. The combination of quantitative petrography, fluid inclusion and basin modelling allowed to point out the impact of regional fluid migrations on the well scale diagenesis and on the siliciclastic reservoir quality preservation

The relationship between performance for the Swedish industry and changesin prices and volatility of commodities has been examined using multiple linearregression. The study focuses on how commodity price fluctuations correlate withgross profit growth, measuring company performance. Gross profit as a performancemeasure is contrary to most previous studies that use stock performance as thedependent variable. This study has found two commodities whose prices have asignificant relationship with changes in gross profit for the Swedish industry sector,Brent oil, and platinum. The correlation with Brent oil is the most reliable one.Surprisingly, Brent oil has a positive relationship with gross profit, even thougha higher oil price is causing more expensive logistics and manufacturing operations,increasing costs of sold goods. This indicates a possible correlation between oil priceand demand for manufactured products; industrial companies can either increaseprices or produce at a high capacity. Regarding the volatility of commodities, nosignificant correlation with gross profits has been found. / Med multipel linjär regression undersöks relationen mellan prestation hos svenska industriföretag och förändringar i priser och volatilitet hos råvaror. Studien fokuserar på hur prisfluktuationer för råvaror korrelerar med bruttovinst, vilket väljs som prestationsmått. Det skiljer sig från majoriteten av tidigare studier där avkastning på aktier har varit den beroende variabeln. Denna studien har hittat stöd för att priset på två råvaror har en signifikant korrelation med förändringar i bruttovinst för den svenska industrin. Nämligen Brent olja och platinum, varav Brent olja har en betydligt pålitligare korrelation.  Brent olja har ett positivt förhållande med bruttovinst, vilket är förvånande då dyrare olja innebär ökade kostnader kopplade till logistik och tillverkning. Något som ökar kostnaden för sålda varor. Detta indikerar att ett ökad pris på olja borde korrelera med en hög efterfrågan på tillverkade produkter, så att industriföretagen kan öka sina priser och/eller tillverka fler varor när oljan ökar i pris. Vad gäller volatilitet på råvaror har det inte hittats någon significant korrelation med bruttovinst.

<p>Fast addition is essential in many DSP algorithms. Various structures have been introduced to speed up the time critical carry propagation. For high throughput applications, however, it may be necessary to introduce pipelining. In this report the power consumption of four different adder structures, with varying word length and different number of pipeline cuts, is compared. </p><p>Out of the four adder structures compared, the Kogge-Stone parallel prefix adder proves to be the best choice most of the time. The Brent-Kung parallel prefix adder is also a good choice, but the maximal throughput does not reach as high as the maximal throughput of the Kogge-Stone parallel prefix adder.</p>

Fast addition is essential in many DSP algorithms. Various structures have been introduced to speed up the time critical carry propagation. For high throughput applications, however, it may be necessary to introduce pipelining. In this report the power consumption of four different adder structures, with varying word length and different number of pipeline cuts, is compared. Out of the four adder structures compared, the Kogge-Stone parallel prefix adder proves to be the best choice most of the time. The Brent-Kung parallel prefix adder is also a good choice, but the maximal throughput does not reach as high as the maximal throughput of the Kogge-Stone parallel prefix adder.

This study aims at analysing how African oil benchmarks within the OPEC Reference Basket relative to the WTI and Brent benchmarks which are considered as global pricing benchmarks for the period starting from 1997-2008. The Nigerian Bonny Light and Algerian Saharan blend were the two benchmarks used for this study. A time series analysis was applied to the weekly price data series set and with the aid of a breakpoint unit root test and Cusum of Squared test to determine if there was a change in the persistence of the spread of each African benchmark relative to the global benchmarks. The results for from the unit root test indicated the presence of a structural break in the price spread in 2004 for the Bonny Light benchmark and in 2005 for the Saharan blend relative to both global benchmarks. The Cusum Squared test for the four benchmark pairings indicated a change in persistence of the price spreads. The null hypothesis was rejected for the alternative hypothesis of the price spread process having a relatively high persistence value after a while. The Cusum Test results showed a change in persistence for both African benchmarks relative to the WTI benchmark and no change in persistence relative to the Brent benchmark. The results of from the Time series analysis indicated the competitive nature of African benchmarks relative to global benchmarks and this could benefit exporting countries by virtue of setting up derivative markets. The derivative markets would allow for the trade of benchmark spreads, futures contracts, options and other financial instruments for African oil producers.

<p>This paper is a semiotic analysis of nine images that are photographed in the "third world" by documentary photographer Brent Stirton. These images are analyzed on the basis of the three theoretical perspectives postcolonialism, intersectionality and postcolonial feminist criticism. The Analysis examine how men and women are represented in these pictures from the ”Third World”. As well as an attempt to understand what story these pictures tells the spectator and what kind of picture the spectator gets of the ”Third World” thorough these photographs in return.</p> / <p><strong>Denna uppsats är en semiotisk bildanalys av nio bilder som är fotograferade i "tredje världen" av dokumentärfotografen Brent Stirton. Dessa bilder analyseras utifrån de tre teoretiska perspektiven postkolonialism, intersektionalitet och postkolonial feministisk kritik. Analysen går ut på att titta på hur män och kvinnor representeras i dessa bilder från "tredje världen" samt försöka förstå vad för berättelse dessa bilder berättar för åskådaren och vad åskådaren i sin tur får för bild av "tredje världen" genom dessa fotografier.</strong></p>

This paper is a semiotic analysis of nine images that are photographed in the "third world" by documentary photographer Brent Stirton. These images are analyzed on the basis of the three theoretical perspectives postcolonialism, intersectionality and postcolonial feminist criticism. The Analysis examine how men and women are represented in these pictures from the ”Third World”. As well as an attempt to understand what story these pictures tells the spectator and what kind of picture the spectator gets of the ”Third World” thorough these photographs in return. / Denna uppsats är en semiotisk bildanalys av nio bilder som är fotograferade i "tredje världen" av dokumentärfotografen Brent Stirton. Dessa bilder analyseras utifrån de tre teoretiska perspektiven postkolonialism, intersektionalitet och postkolonial feministisk kritik. Analysen går ut på att titta på hur män och kvinnor representeras i dessa bilder från "tredje världen" samt försöka förstå vad för berättelse dessa bilder berättar för åskådaren och vad åskådaren i sin tur får för bild av "tredje världen" genom dessa fotografier.

本篇論文使用SWARCH模型探討布蘭特原油期貨市場的波動性。SWARCH模型將條件變異設定為可隨時間變動而改變，甚至移轉到不同的區間上。實證結果顯示SWARCH (3,3)模型具有最佳配適度與最準確的預測能力。樣本在不同區間下的平滑機率的估計值有助於補捉資料特性，而且當樣本落在高波動率區間上時會對應著重大事件的發生，如1990年波斯灣戰爭、1997年亞洲金融風暴與2001年的911恐怖攻擊。 / This paper investigates the volatility of the Brent crude oil futures markets using Markov-switching ARCH (SWARCH) model. The SWARCH model allows the conditional disturbances to change as time passes and even to switch in different regimes. The empirical evidence shows that the SWARCH (3,3) model performs the best goodness of fit and the best forecast performance between different fitting models. The estimation of smoothing probabilities of data under different regimes facilitates to capture the characteristics of data, and the high-volatility regime is associated with the extraordinary events, such as the 1990’s Persian Gulf War, the 1997’s Asia Financial Crisis, and the 2001’s 911 terrorist attack.

The crude oil phenomenon has always been a big issue and the current situation does not prove different. Crude oil as a commodity is indisputably considered as one of the most utilized energy source as well as production input which enters into economic processes in the vast majority of countries over the world. The aim of this masters thesis is to provide a detailed description and analysis of the crude oil world market. Furthermore it not only gives a characteristics of the commodity and its energy use it also defines the market and its participants crude oil pricing crude oil trading and it also provides an analysis of the world oil demand as well as supply.The purpose of this masters thesis is among other to thoroughly analyze the crude oil prices development and introduce the contemporary trends present on the market. In the latter part of this thesis there will be a crude oil prices time series modelled and probable future price direction outlined. Moreover the thesis will reflect on the current oil prices drop with its possible effect on world economy.