The satellites of the satellites of Ursa Space Systems, Orbital Insight and the like are going to keep coal mines and oil fields under vigilant control, following the supply chain and output almost in real time. If the system works, this data will become a gold dwelling for traders who will be able to learn about the state of the market before government messages. The decrease in the prices for satellites allowed launching 310 satellites this year (data as of the end of August), almost twice as much as in the past. Some of them, belonging to operators such as Planet Labs and Iridium Communications, have formed in a near-earth orbit a fleet that can observe virtually the entire Earth. Companies like Orbital use artificial intelligence to scan millions of images and turn them into useful data. "This is the dream of traders," says Tom James of Navitas Resources. - As if there was a direct channel with the CIA. If everything really will, as promised, it's just fine ". In the recent past, seafarers who follow the export of oil considered tankers in binoculars. The next step was the satellites, through which they learned to measure the depth of shadows from floating oil tanks to determine how much they filled. Traders at the exchange used this data to learn about the condition of large companies' warehouses before competitors.

For example, a trader may want to know when demand exceeds supply and inflates prices. On satellite images there are mountains of coal lying around mines that can be measured and drawn. It is possible to consider trains and tankers. By activity on the drilling and near mines one can understand how actively the production is being conducted. If all this is put together, the data will be able to tell who needs coal, and who has surplus for sale.

Original article: Satellite observation will change the trade in oil and coal.