Fuel offering and purchase management system

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed towards apparatuses, systems and methods to facilitate the pricing, sales and delivery of a commodity fuel to a Customer. In one embodiment, the disclosure teaches a Fuel Offer Generator that facilitates the purchase and management of fuel offerings. The Fuel Offer Generator allows Customers interested in securing fuel to obtain an offer for fuel at lock-in prices for various tenors. Fuel Customers can buy these fuel offers such that they may later exercise the fuel offers so their fuel costs are locked-in at desired levels (e.g., they may be set to strike prices). The Fuel Offer Generator also can establish a Premium Price that will be part of the fuel offer. The Fuel Offer Generator may generate hedges to counteract fuel related risks stemming from fuel offer purchases. Ultimately, a customer that purchases a fuel offering can exercise their fuel offering order at a specified price and redeem any difference between the market price for their purchased fuel and the price specified in their fuel offering order. The Fuel Offer Generator determines which metrics are relevant to pricing the fuel offering and then employs those determined metrics to establish the pricing of fuel offerings.

1 - 45 . (canceled) 
     
     
         46 . A processor-implemented method to generate fuel offerings for selection by customers, comprising:
 setting a strike price for a fuel offering;   determining a premium price associated with the strike price for the fuel offering based on the strike price and pricing input factors;   monitoring customer fuel offering orders and exercises;   storing information regarding the monitored customer fuel offering orders and exercises as monitored information;   adjusting fuel offering prices based on the monitored information;   providing the fuel offering at an offer price comprised of the strike price and premium price for selection by customers.   
     
     
         47 . (canceled) 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 46 , further, comprising:
 determining a service markup price associated with the premium price for the fuel offering.   
     
     
         49 . (canceled) 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein the strike price is based on a determined metric. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the determined metric is based on a national average. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the determined metric is based on a multi-national average. 
     
     
         53 . (canceled) 
     
     
         54 . (canceled) 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 46 , further, comprising:
 determining if the strike and premium price are satisfactory by querying a historical usage database for information to be used as a factor in determining whether said strike and premium price are satisfactory.   
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein the pricing input factors comprise: fuel market information, historical analysis, offering parameters, observable parameters and non-observable parameters. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein the fuel market information may include any of:
 a wholesale gasoline over-the-counter options market, wholesale gasoline over-the-counter forward market and futures market, retail gasoline spot prices.   
     
     
         58 - 61 . (canceled) 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein determination of the premium price based on the pricing input factors, further includes:
 obtaining the pricing input factors;   employing the pricing input factors in a commodity volatility model to generate a volatility solution; and   partially determining the premium price based on the pricing input factors using the volatility solution as an input into a pricing simulation.   
     
     
         63 - 65 . (canceled) 
     
     
         66 . The method of  claim 46 , further, comprising:
 obtaining a customer order responsive to said fuel offering, the customer order including specified parameters including at least a quantity of fuel and a tenor.   
     
     
         67 . The method of  claim 66 , wherein the specified parameters further include a type of fuel. 
     
     
         68 . The method of  claim 66 , wherein the specified parameters further include a periodic usage limit. 
     
     
         69 . The method of  claim 46 , further, comprising:
 reimbursing a customer that exercises a customer fuel offering order.   
     
     
         70 . The method of  claim 69 , further, comprising:
 storing exercise information regarding the customer's fuel offering order exercise in a historical usage database.   
     
     
         71 - 74 . (canceled) 
     
     
         75 . The method of  claim 66 , further, comprising:
 aggregating customer fuel offering orders.   
     
     
         76 . The method of  claim 75 , further, comprising:
 executing a hedge for the aggregated customer fuel offering orders.   
     
     
         77 . The method of  claim 75 , wherein the hedge employs a forward contract. 
     
     
         78 - 99 . (canceled) 
     
     
         100 . The method of  claim 46 , further, comprising:
 aggregating customer fuel offering orders;   determining a sensitivity to said offered strike and premium price;   executing a hedge for the customer fuel offering order based on the determined sensitivity to said fuel offering strike and premium pricing.   
     
     
         101 - 103 . (canceled) 
     
     
         104 . A medium readable by a processor to generate fuel offerings for selection by customers, comprising:
 instruction signals in the processor readable medium, wherein the instruction signals are issuable by the processor to:   set a strike price for a fuel offering;   determine a premium price associated with the strike price for the fuel offering based on the strike price and pricing input factors;   monitor customer fuel offering orders and exercises;   store information regarding the monitored customer fuel offering orders and exercises as monitored information;   adjust fuel offering prices based on the monitored information;   provide the fuel offering at an offer price comprised of the strike price and premium price for selection by customers.   
     
     
         105 . (canceled) 
     
     
         106 . An apparatus to generate fuel offerings for selection by customers, comprising:
 a memory;   a processor disposed in communication with said memory, and configured to issue a plurality of processing instructions stored in the memory, wherein the instructions issue signals to:   obtain a search query from a searcher;   set a strike price for a fuel offering;   determine a premium price associated with the strike price for the fuel offering based on the strike price and pricing input factors;   monitor customer fuel offering orders and exercises;   store information regarding the monitored customer fuel offering orders and exercises as monitored information;   adjust fuel offering prices based on the monitored information;   provide the fuel offering at an offer price comprised of the strike price and premium price for selection by customers.