What determines the range and boundaries of energy derivative markets? Why is the oil futures trade dominated by contracts on two grades and locations when the global trade encompasses many grades and locations? Should we expect change in the near future? We review research on the establishment and performance of energy derivative markets, focusing on the two major energy commodities: oil and natural gas. For both commodities, trade in derivatives arose at the conclusion of a historical process in which production along the value chain that had been coordinated by vertically integrated companies or similar institutional structures switched to being coordinated through markets. Consequently, much of the research reviewed here is about the structural changes that made it possible for markets to assume this role. This review encompasses research into the price discovery function, which determines how many successful futures contracts are needed for each commodity.

中文翻译：

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石油和天然气衍生品市场的基础知识

什么决定了能源衍生品市场的范围和边界？当全球贸易包含许多等级和地点时，为什么石油期货交易以两个等级和地点的合同为主？我们应该在不久的将来期待改变吗？我们回顾了关于能源衍生品市场的建立和表现的研究，重点是两种主要的能源商品：石油和天然气。对于这两种商品，衍生品贸易都是在一个历史过程的结尾出现的，在这个过程中，价值链上的生产已经由垂直整合的公司或类似的机构结构进行了协调，转而通过市场进行了协调。因此，这里回顾的许多研究都是关于结构变化，这些变化使市场有可能担当这一角色。