Competition, transmission and pattern evolution: A network analysis of global oil trade

Hai-Ying Zhang, Qiang Ji and Ying Fan

Energy Policy, 2014, vol. 73, issue C, 312-322

Abstract: This paper studies the competition among oil importers using complex network theory, combined with several alternative measures of competition intensity, to analyze the evolution of the pattern and transmission of oil-trading competition. The results indicate that oil trade has formed a global competition pattern and that the role played by the Asian-Pacific region in the evolution of this competition pattern is becoming increasingly prominent. In addition, global competition intensity has continued to rise, and non-OECD countries have become the main driving force for this increase in global competition intensity. The large oil importers are the most significant parts of the global oil-trading competition pattern. They are not only the major participants in the competition for oil resources but also play important roles in the transmission of oil-trading competition. China and the United States especially display the feature of globalization, whose impacts of transmission reach across the whole oil-trading competition network. Finally, a “5C” (changeability, contestability, cooperation, commitment and circumstances) policy framework is put forward to maintain the stability of oil trade and improve the energy security of oil importers in various aspects.

Keywords: Oil-trading competition pattern; Competition transmission; Evolution; Complex network theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (67)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421514003929
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:73:y:2014:i:c:p:312-322

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2014.06.020

Access Statistics for this article

Energy Policy is currently edited by N. France

More articles in Energy Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().