IM1 · Commodity Instrument Engineering

Physical Commodity Contracts & Supply Instruments

Buy it. Move it. Get the terms right.

Master the physical commodity instrument end to end: the contractual bundle of product, quantity, quality, location, delivery, pricing, title and settlement, across spot and term supply, offtake, formula and provisional pricing, Incoterms, nomination, logistics, inventory and the CTRM representation of all of it.

Physical trading · Supply & offtake · Formula pricing · Logistics · Inventory · Title · CTRM

Enrol or enquire See the 100 chapters

100 chapters · 10 modules · multi-commodity · one continuous instrument estate

How it is built

Design it, book it, value it, risk it, operate it, implement it

100 chapters does not mean 100 definitions. This programme follows the academy's standard ten-module architecture, so the instrument is taken from first principles through to a working CTRM representation, using the same structure as every other programme in the academy.

Worked cases run on NorthStar Global Commodities, a fictional instrument book created for teaching. It does not describe any real firm, person or transaction.

Curriculum

10 modules · 100 chapters

M0 Physical Commodity Instrument Foundations Ch 1-10 · 10 chapters
  1. What a Physical Commodity Instrument Actually Is
  2. Physical Trade vs Financial Trade
  3. Spot, Prompt, Term and Forward Physical Transactions
  4. The Physical Commodity Instrument Hierarchy
  5. Contract, Trade, Delivery and Settlement as Separate Objects
  6. Buyer, Seller, Producer, Consumer, Trader and Operator Roles
  7. Physical Commodity Units and Measurement Conventions
  8. Location, Delivery Point and Market Geography
  9. Physical Commodity Lifecycle from Deal to Cash
  10. NorthStar Multi-Commodity Physical Trading Estate
M1 Contract Architecture & Commercial Terms Ch 11-20 · 10 chapters
  1. Master Agreements, General Terms and Transaction Confirmations
  2. Purchase Agreements, Sales Agreements and Supply Contracts
  3. Long-Term Supply Agreements
  4. Offtake Agreements
  5. Fixed-Quantity vs Requirements Contracts
  6. Firm, Interruptible and Best-Efforts Supply
  7. Take-or-Pay and Minimum Purchase Obligations
  8. Make-Up Rights and Carry-Forward Quantities
  9. Contract Quantity Tolerance and Operational Flexibility
  10. Contract Versioning, Amendments and Restatements
M2 Quantity, Quality, Delivery & Title Ch 21-30 · 10 chapters
  1. Contract Quantity vs Scheduled Quantity vs Actual Quantity
  2. Delivery Periods, Windows and Time Granularity
  3. Quantity Tolerances, Overdelivery and Underdelivery
  4. Commodity Quality Specifications
  5. Quality Premiums and Discounts
  6. Measurement, Metering and Inspection
  7. Title Transfer and Risk of Loss
  8. Incoterms and Delivery Responsibility
  9. Delivery Failure, Shortfall and Replacement
  10. Physical Delivery Obligation Ledger
M3 Pricing, Indexation & Commercial Economics Ch 31-40 · 10 chapters
  1. Fixed-Price Physical Contracts
  2. Floating-Price Physical Contracts
  3. Index-Linked Pricing Architecture
  4. Pricing Periods and Averaging
  5. Provisional Pricing and Final Pricing
  6. Formula Pricing and Multi-Component Price Equations
  7. Location and Basis Differentials
  8. Quality Differentials in Pricing
  9. Currency, FX Conversion and Multi-Currency Contracts
  10. Building the Complete Physical Contract Price
M4 Commodity-Specific Physical Structures Ch 41-50 · 10 chapters
  1. Physical Crude Oil Cargo Contracts
  2. Refined Products Physical Trading
  3. European Physical Natural Gas Contracts
  4. North American Physical Gas Contracts
  5. Physical LNG Cargo Sales and Purchases
  6. Physical Power Supply Contracts
  7. Physical Metals Contracts
  8. Physical Agricultural and Soft Commodity Contracts
  9. Environmental Commodity Physical/Registry Transfers
  10. Cross-Commodity Contract Comparison
M5 Logistics, Inventory & Physical Operations Ch 51-60 · 10 chapters
  1. Logistics as Part of the Trade Economics
  2. Nomination and Scheduling Fundamentals
  3. Pipeline and Network Delivery
  4. Marine Cargo Operations
  5. Terminal and Storage Movements
  6. Warehouse, Warrant and Inventory Control
  7. Inventory Position and Ownership
  8. Losses, Gains, Shrinkage and Operational Adjustments
  9. Imbalances and Operational True-Ups
  10. End-to-End Physical Movement Reconciliation
M6 Valuation, Position, P\&L, Risk & Credit Ch 61-70 · 10 chapters
  1. Mark-to-Market of Physical Commodity Trades
  2. Physical Position Construction
  3. Physical P\&L Explain
  4. Basis Risk in Physical Trading
  5. Volume Risk and Quantity Uncertainty
  6. Market Risk for Physical Contracts
  7. Counterparty Credit Exposure on Physical Trades
  8. Prepayment, Advance Payment and Performance Risk
  9. Credit Limits and Pre-Trade Physical Controls
  10. Integrated Physical Trade Risk View
M7 CTRM/ETRM Product Model & Trade Capture Ch 71-80 · 10 chapters
  1. Canonical Physical Trade Header
  2. Physical Trade Legs
  3. Delivery Schedule Data Model
  4. Pricing Terms Data Model
  5. Quality and Specification Data Model
  6. Location and Logistics Reference Model
  7. Contract and Agreement Linkage
  8. Trade Capture Validation Rules
  9. API and JSON Representation of a Physical Trade
  10. SQL Schema for Physical Commodity Instruments
M8 Lifecycle, Settlement, Accounting & Controls Ch 81-90 · 10 chapters
  1. Confirmation and Contractual Evidence
  2. Amendments, Corrections, Cancellations and Terminations
  3. Delivery and Receipt Events
  4. Invoice Generation for Physical Commodities
  5. Accounts Receivable, Payable and Cash Settlement
  6. Inventory Accounting and Cost Recognition
  7. Physical Trade Reconciliation Controls
  8. Exception and Dispute Management
  9. Physical Commodity Regulatory and Reporting Considerations
  10. Month-End Physical Commodity Close
M9 Enterprise Architecture, Advanced Cases & Capstone Ch 91-100 · 10 chapters
  1. Physical Commodity Event Architecture
  2. Market Data and Pricing Lineage
  3. Position Engine Architecture
  4. Physical Valuation Service Architecture
  5. Scheduling and Logistics Integration Architecture
  6. Settlement and ERP/General Ledger Integration
  7. Designing a Multi-Commodity Physical Instrument Platform
  8. Complex Physical Trade Case: One Contract, Many States
  9. Tier-1 Physical Instrument Implementation Lab
  10. NorthStar Physical Commodity Instrument Capstone
How it is delivered

Three ways to take Physical Commodity Contracts & Supply Instruments

Self-paced is a document-and-media programme with lifetime access - no live sessions. Cohort and enterprise add live instructor-led training. Mentorship is not offered in any tier.
Feature Self-paced Cohort Enterprise
Format Written chapters, video explainers and podcasts Everything in self-paced, plus scheduled live sessions Everything in cohort, delivered privately to your team
Live sessions None Scheduled, instructor-led Scheduled, instructor-led, private
Mentorship Not offered Not offered Not offered
Access Lifetime Lifetime Lifetime for every enrolled seat
Pace Entirely your own Guided schedule with a peer group Agreed with your desk
Tailoring Fixed curriculum Fixed curriculum Sequenced to your markets, systems and governance
Best for Individuals learning around a job Individuals who want structure and deadlines Desks building the same capability together
For individuals

Get the programme guide

The full chapter list, what each module covers, and how the tiers compare - sent to your inbox as a PDF.

For teams

Run this for my desk

Private delivery for your desk, sequenced to your markets and systems. Tell us the team and we will scope it.

Run this for my desk

Bring this to your desk

Download the full curriculum, or talk to us about running it for a team.

Enrol or enquire See the whole academy