What Trading & Marketing actually includes
A fast-moving mix of markets, logistics constraints, and commercial execution.
Crude / Products Trading
- Pricing and executing purchases/sales (spot, term, swaps—varies by shop)
- Managing exposure to benchmarks (WTI, Brent, product cracks, basis differentials)
- Working with logistics to ensure physical barrels actually move as planned
Scheduling / Commercial Operations
- Turning trades into reality: nominations, pipeline cycles, terminal slots, ship/rail/truck plans
- Coordinating constraints: capacity, quality specs, timing windows, demurrage risk
- Communicating constantly across counterparties and internal teams
Risk / Middle Office
- Measuring risk (VaR, sensitivities), verifying positions, ensuring limits are followed
- Trade capture validation, P&L explain, reporting to management
- Sometimes: model governance and controls for pricing curves and marks
Market Analytics / Strategy
- Forecasts, supply/demand balances, refinery utilization, inventory analysis
- Monitoring flows, outages, policy shifts, and seasonal patterns
- Producing “decision-ready” dashboards and commentary
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Roles you’ll find here
Next step: Subscribe and pick your track: Trading, Scheduling, Risk/Middle Office, or Analytics.
Front office (commercial decision-making)
- Crude Trader — executes crude trades, manages exposure, works closely with logistics
- Products Trader (gasoline/diesel/jet) — manages product positions and seasonal demand dynamics
- Trading Analyst / Junior Trader — supports ideas, tracks spreads, assists execution and post-trade review
- Commercial Strategist / Market Analyst — produces market views, scenarios, and decision support
- Originator (term deals / supply) — structures longer-term supply/offtake agreements (more common in larger firms)
Scheduling & logistics (make the barrels move)
- Crude Scheduler — pipeline nominations, terminal coordination, quality & timing alignment
- Products Scheduler — rack/terminal liftings, pipeline cycles, blending constraints
- Marine Operator / Vessel Operator — voyage ops, charters, demurrage, port constraints
- Logistics Coordinator — rail/truck routing, inventory and delivery planning
- Terminal / Storage Commercial Ops — inventory, throughput, constraints, customer allocations
Middle office / risk / finance-adjacent
- Risk Analyst — exposure reporting, limits monitoring, scenario analysis
- Middle Office Analyst — confirmations, positions validation, P&L explain, reporting
- Trade Support / Trade Capture — ensures trades are entered correctly and on time
- Settlements Analyst — invoices, netting, discrepancies, payment cycles
- Pricing / Market Data Analyst — curves, marks, reference prices, data QA
Quant / data (varies by org maturity)
- Trading Data Analyst — flow analytics, KPI dashboards, automation
- Quant Analyst / Modeler — pricing, forecasts, strategy research (more common at large desks)
Next step: Subscribe and pick your track: Trading, Scheduling, Risk/Middle Office, or Analytics.
Skills, certs, and requirements
Hiring here is less about certificates and more about numeracy, calm execution, communication, and attention to detail.
Core skills that matter
- Excel mastery (you don’t need fancy—just fast, accurate, consistent)
- Comfort with time pressure and frequent changes (markets + logistics both move)
- Strong written communication (clear emails/IMs, no ambiguity, fast escalation)
- Commercial mindset: understanding margin, risk, constraints, and opportunity cost
- High accuracy: trade terms, quantities, dates, specs, and “small mistakes = big money”
Domain knowledge that helps a lot
- Benchmark basics: WTI/Brent, differentials, cracks (for products), basis
- Physical constraints: pipeline cycles, terminal nominations, quality specs, blending
- Basic shipping concepts: laytime/demurrage, charter terms (if marine)
- Inventory logic: tank management, heel, linefill, custody transfer concepts
Tools & systems you’ll run into
- ETRM/CTRM systems (trade capture, positions, risk, confirmations)
- Market data platforms (prices, curves, news—varies by employer)
- Data stacks: SQL, Python, BI dashboards (more common every year)
- Scheduling workflows: nomination templates, terminal slot tools, voyage tracking
“Soft requirements” employers quietly care about
- You can handle ambiguity without freezing
- You can prioritize and communicate trade-offs
- You don’t hide problems (you escalate early and clearly)
Top locations + why
Trading & commercial roles cluster where physical barrels meet commercial decision-making.
North America
- Houston, TX — the biggest hub: trading desks, schedulers, mid-office, analytics, logistics
- Calgary, AB — Canadian crude + marketing ecosystem
- Chicago, IL — products trading/logistics, pipeline/terminal networks, market access
- New York, NY / Stamford, CT — finance-adjacent risk/analysis roles (firm-dependent)
- New Orleans / Gulf Coast corridor — physical logistics and export flows
Europe
- London, UK — major global trading hub (crude/products, risk, analytics)
- Geneva, CH — physical trading houses and commercial operations
- Rotterdam, NL — storage/terminal nexus; scheduling and logistics-heavy roles
- Amsterdam, NL — trading + analytics presence (company-dependent)
- Antwerp, BE — petrochemical and logistics ecosystem
Middle East / Asia (examples)
- Dubai, UAE — regional commercial hub; trading + operations presence
- Singapore — key refined products and marine hub; scheduling + trading presence
Geo: Pick 1–3 hubs when you subscribe so alerts match where desks actually sit.
Salary & career path snapshot
Comp varies dramatically by company type (major vs trading house vs refiner vs midstream) and by role (front office vs ops vs risk). Use this as a directional map.
Typical pay patterns (directional)
- Scheduling / commercial ops: solid base; sometimes shift/on-call; performance bonus varies
- Risk / middle office: base + bonus; stability tends to be higher than front office
- Market analytics: base + bonus; grows with domain expertise and impact
- Trading (front office): wider range; bonuses can be meaningful when you’re proven
What drives compensation here
- Responsibility for P&L decisions vs operational execution
- Complexity: marine ops, structured deals, multi-asset desks
- Track record: reducing losses, improving margins, preventing costly mistakes
- Your ability to “see around corners” (markets + logistics + contracts)
Career paths (common ladders)
Scheduling track: Scheduler → Senior Scheduler → Lead / Team Lead → Commercial Manager
Risk track: Risk Analyst → Senior → Risk Lead → Head of Risk / Commercial Controls
Analytics track: Analyst → Senior → Strategist/Lead → Commercial Strategy Manager
Trading track (varies): Analyst → Assistant Trader → Trader → Senior Trader / Desk Lead
Employers & company directory
These are the employer categories people mean when they say “trading & marketing jobs”.
Integrated majors (large oil companies)
- Hire: trading, scheduling, marine ops, risk, analytics, middle office
- Why it matters: structured training, deep physical networks, strong processes
Commodity trading houses / merchants
- Hire: traders, operators, risk, settlements, analytics
- Why it matters: fast pace, strong commercial learning curve
Refiners & downstream marketers
- Hire: products schedulers, optimization analysts, commercial managers
- Why it matters: strong link between refinery economics, blending, and product placement
Midstream / terminal operators (commercial side)
- Hire: commercial ops, capacity scheduling, customer management, analytics
Utilities / aviation / industrial end-users (procurement & supply)
- Hire: fuel procurement, risk/hedging support, logistics coordinators
Hiring trading & commercial talent?
Post a role or request a featured company page to capture brand search traffic from traders, schedulers, operators, risk, and analytics candidates.
FAQs
In many companies, “marketing” means the commercial function that sells/buys physical barrels and manages customer relationships, while “trading” focuses more on market exposure and P&L decisions. The boundary varies by employer.
Schedulers translate deals into physical reality: nominations, terminal slots, inventory plans, and constant coordination to handle changes without penalties or missed commitments.
It’s commercial, but physical constraints matter a lot. Even in “market” roles, the real world (pipeline capacity, quality specs, ship timing) often determines outcomes.
Not always, but common backgrounds include engineering, economics, finance, math, and analytics. For scheduling/risk roles, employers often prioritize accuracy and operational discipline over a specific major.
Middle office helps keep the desk honest: positions validation, risk reporting, P&L explain, controls. It prevents mistakes that can become expensive very quickly.
Common routes: scheduling → commercial analyst → assistant trader, or market analytics → desk support. Some firms also have structured analyst programs.
Start with: strong Excel, basic market concepts (benchmarks/spreads), and understanding how physical moves happen (nominations, terminals, shipping basics).
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