Blog
Essays on physical oil.
From the operator's seat.
Scam taxonomy. Regulatory mechanics. Corridor economics. Short, specific, written from operational experience running OilFlow's 7-step KYC pipeline across 235 non-sanctioned countries worldwide.
ComplyAdvantage vs Sumsub vs Refinitiv vs OilFlow: An Honest Comparison
Most compliance-screening tools are built for the compliance department and priced for enterprise procurement. OilFlow is built for the front-office originator who needs an answer before they structure a deal. Here is the honest matrix, including where the incumbents are stronger.
READEight Sanctions Lists, and Where PEP Fits: What a Complete Screen Covers
Screening a counterparty against a single sanctions list leaves gaps a designated party can walk through. Here is what each of the eight sanctions authorities covers, why one list is never enough, and where a politically exposed persons check sits in industry practice. OilFlow screens the eight lists; it does not currently screen PEP.
READWhat a 235-Jurisdiction Trade-Tradability Matrix Actually Checks
Whether a physical-commodity trade can legally move is not one question. It is product tradability, payment-term constraints, license requirements, and sanctions-aware routing, evaluated for both the origin and the destination. Here is how a tradability matrix is structured and why it belongs before the deal, not after.
READWhy Trade-Finance RMs Lose Four to Six Weeks on Compliance-Killed Deals
Front-office originators spend weeks structuring deals that compliance kills at the gate over a counterparty problem that was knowable on day one. Here is how to invert the order and clear a counterparty before you structure anything.
READThe Simar Cluster and Why Front-Office RMs Are the Wrong Buyer for Compliance Tools
A 96-hour breakdown of the Simar Chahal Chevron-CEO impersonation cluster and why every compliance tool I have evaluated has been selling to the wrong persona.
READBroker Circumvention After Introduction: The Seventh Scam Pattern
Why counterparties sometimes try to settle off-platform after an introduction, what detection patterns catch it, and how multi-broker commission splits are enforced on OilFlow.
READSeller Mandate Layer-Cakes: Why Real Oil Sellers Don't Operate Through Six Intermediaries
How the Seller Mandate / Seller's Representative chain actually works, why legitimate physical oil sellers sell directly, and how to detect a non-existent cargo hidden behind intermediary layers.
READGhost-Cargo Terminal Receipts: How to Verify a Tank Position Directly
Why most physical oil tank receipts presented to buyers are fabricated or expired, and the one-step verification most buyers don't know they can run.
READWhy \"Russian Oil via Kazakhstan\" Is Not a Sanctions-Safe Trade
How secondary OFAC sanctions apply to sanctioned-country oil regardless of routing, why \"sanctions-compliant\" legal opinions on these trades are typically fabricated, and what USD correspondent banking exposure really means.
READICPO Is Not a Real Document: The LOI → ICPO → MT700 Scam Chain
Why \"Irrevocable Corporate Purchase Order\" does not exist in ICC rules, how the LOI-ICPO-DLC MT700 pattern actually operates, and what real contract sequencing looks like in physical oil.
READWhy No Legitimate Oil Seller Demands a Non-Refundable Performance Bond
The correct structure of a performance bond in physical oil trade, why any demand for a non-refundable PB is a reliable scam signal, and how to respond.
READ\"Virgin D2\" Is Not a Real Petroleum Specification
Why the phrase \"Virgin D2\" is a reliable signal of a scam, what real diesel specifications look like, and how to respond to a counterparty who offers it.
READHow Real Physical Oil Trading Actually Works
A straight walkthrough of how legitimate physical oil cargoes move, from price discovery to Bill of Lading, and how to spot the LOI/ICPO/DLC broker scam ecosystem.
READWorking a live deal?
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Counterparty Screen$95
One name, delivered within the hour, marked DRAFT for review by independent legal counsel, no human read. PEP is not screened; adverse media is not swept.
Email hello@oilflow.us with the product and the counterparty name in the subject. An invoice comes back by reply. Both are prepaid by invoice or marketplace order; the Screen can also be paid by card where oilflow.us/pricing offers it.
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