To learn about the petroleum industry and how it operates, use this report on Oil: Crude Oil and Petroleum Products Explained from the EIA, the U.S. Energy Information Administration..

The EIA publishes an Annual Energy Outlook.

The American Petroleum Institute offers comprehensive reports and data on oil and natural gas.

The key trade journal for the oil and gas industry is Oil & Gas Journal. Oil & Gas Journal publishes many industry surveys including a "Worldwide Report" in their December issue. Full text articles can be found by searching the database ABI/Inform.

Ernst & Young reports on trends in the oil and gas industry.

The Department of Energy publishes many reports on Prices and Trends.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office published a report to Congress,  Petroleum refining, industry's outlook depends on market changes and key environmental regulations (March 2014).

Start your research by building a basic understanding of how the industry operates by using one of these databases:

Trade journals are good sources for identifying industry trends. Search using your industry name or NAICS code and combine it with keywords like "trends" or "surveys" or "outlook."