IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v100y2017icp365-376.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The roles of countries in the international fossil fuel trade: An emergy and network analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Zhong, Weiqiong
  • An, Haizhong
  • Shen, Lei
  • Fang, Wei
  • Gao, Xiangyun
  • Dong, Di

Abstract

A better understanding of the roles of countries in the international fossil fuel trade is crucial for trade security and policy optimization. This study aims to provide a new way to quantitatively analyze the roles of countries in the international fossil fuel trade by complex network analysis and Emergy theory. We transform the trade quantity of coal, crude oil and natural gas into emergy and the sum of the three emergies is the emergy of fossil fuel. We build up network models of fossil fuel based on the value of fossil fuel emergy. Then, the top relationships, the central position, the intermediary ability of the countries, and the roles of countries in the trade groups were used to analyze the roles of countries in the international fossil fuel trade network. We choose four countries, the USA, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, as examples to show the analysis of roles and policy implications. We suggest that the USA and Russia should try to improve their intermediary abilities by diversifying their trade orientations and pay more attention to building up relationships with countries in different communities. China should seek for more tight relationships with other countries to improve its central position, and more pipelines connecting China, Russia, and other Middle Asia countries are needed. As for Saudi Arabia, expanding its industrial chain of crude oil is a better way to deal with the more fierce competition in the market.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhong, Weiqiong & An, Haizhong & Shen, Lei & Fang, Wei & Gao, Xiangyun & Dong, Di, 2017. "The roles of countries in the international fossil fuel trade: An emergy and network analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 365-376.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:100:y:2017:i:c:p:365-376
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2016.07.025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421516303846
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.07.025?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhao, Chunfu & Chen, Bin, 2014. "China’s oil security from the supply chain perspective: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 269-279.
    2. Gert Sabidussi, 1966. "The centrality index of a graph," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 31(4), pages 581-603, December.
    3. Ji, Qiang & Guo, Jian-Feng, 2015. "Oil price volatility and oil-related events: An Internet concern study perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 256-264.
    4. Brown, Mark T. & Protano, Gaetano & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2011. "Assessing geobiosphere work of generating global reserves of coal, crude oil, and natural gas," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(3), pages 879-887.
    5. An, Haizhong & Gao, Xiangyun & Fang, Wei & Ding, Yinghui & Zhong, Weiqiong, 2014. "Research on patterns in the fluctuation of the co-movement between crude oil futures and spot prices: A complex network approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1067-1075.
    6. Geng, Jiang-Bo & Ji, Qiang & Fan, Ying, 2014. "A dynamic analysis on global natural gas trade network," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 23-33.
    7. Pang, Mingyue & Zhang, Lixiao & Ulgiati, Sergio & Wang, Changbo, 2015. "Ecological impacts of small hydropower in China: Insights from an emergy analysis of a case plant," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 112-122.
    8. Brown, M. T. & Herendeen, R. A., 1996. "Embodied energy analysis and EMERGY analysis: a comparative view," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 219-235, December.
    9. Fan, Ying & Ren, Suting & Cai, Hongbo & Cui, Xuefeng, 2014. "The state's role and position in international trade: A complex network perspective," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 71-81.
    10. Leung, Leonard & Jenkins, Glenn P., 2014. "An economic evaluation of Peru׳s liquefied natural gas export policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 643-654.
    11. Zhang, Meimei & Wang, Zhifeng & Xu, Chao & Jiang, Hui, 2012. "Embodied energy and emergy analyses of a concentrating solar power (CSP) system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 232-238.
    12. Wu, Gang & Liu, Lan-Cui & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2009. "Comparison of China's oil import risk: Results based on portfolio theory and a diversification index approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3557-3565, September.
    13. Lucas, Paul L. & Nielsen, Jens & Calvin, Katherine & L. McCollum, David & Marangoni, Giacomo & Strefler, Jessica & van der Zwaan, Bob C.C. & van Vuuren, Detlef P., 2015. "Future energy system challenges for Africa: Insights from Integrated Assessment Models," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 705-717.
    14. Zhong, Weiqiong & An, Haizhong & Gao, Xiangyun & Sun, Xiaoqi, 2014. "The evolution of communities in the international oil trade network," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 413(C), pages 42-52.
    15. Gergely Palla & Albert-László Barabási & Tamás Vicsek, 2007. "Quantifying social group evolution," Nature, Nature, vol. 446(7136), pages 664-667, April.
    16. An, Haizhong & Gao, Xiangyun & Fang, Wei & Huang, Xuan & Ding, Yinghui, 2014. "The role of fluctuating modes of autocorrelation in crude oil prices," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 393(C), pages 382-390.
    17. Gao, Xiangyun & An, Haizhong & Fang, Wei & Li, Huajiao & Sun, Xiaoqi, 2014. "The transmission of fluctuant patterns of the forex burden based on international crude oil prices," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 380-386.
    18. Barigozzi, Matteo & Fagiolo, Giorgio & Mangioni, Giuseppe, 2011. "Identifying the community structure of the international-trade multi-network," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 390(11), pages 2051-2066.
    19. Bastianoni, S. & Campbell, D.E. & Ridolfi, R. & Pulselli, F.M., 2009. "The solar transformity of petroleum fuels," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 220(1), pages 40-50.
    20. Kruyt, Bert & van Vuuren, D.P. & de Vries, H.J.M. & Groenenberg, H., 2009. "Indicators for energy security," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2166-2181, June.
    21. An, Haizhong & Zhong, Weiqiong & Chen, Yurong & Li, Huajiao & Gao, Xiangyun, 2014. "Features and evolution of international crude oil trade relationships: A trading-based network analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 254-259.
    22. Vivoda, Vlado, 2014. "Natural gas in Asia: Trade, markets and regional institutions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 80-90.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhong, Weiqiong & An, Haizhong & Shen, Lei & Dai, Tao & Fang, Wei & Gao, Xiangyun & Dong, Di, 2017. "Global pattern of the international fossil fuel trade: The evolution of communities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 260-270.
    2. Zhang, Hongwei & Wang, Ying & Yang, Cai & Guo, Yaoqi, 2021. "The impact of country risk on energy trade patterns based on complex network and panel regression analyses," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    3. Zhong, Weiqiong & An, Haizhong & Fang, Wei & Gao, Xiangyun & Dong, Di, 2016. "Features and evolution of international fossil fuel trade network based on value of emergy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 868-877.
    4. Sun, Xiaoqi & An, Haizhong & Gao, Xiangyun & Jia, Xiaoliang & Liu, Xiaojia, 2016. "Indirect energy flow between industrial sectors in China: A complex network approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 195-205.
    5. Gao, Cuixia & Sun, Mei & Shen, Bo, 2015. "Features and evolution of international fossil energy trade relationships: A weighted multilayer network analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 542-554.
    6. Xi, Xian & Zhou, Jinsheng & Gao, Xiangyun & Liu, Donghui & Zheng, Huiling & Sun, Qingru, 2019. "Impact of changes in crude oil trade network patterns on national economy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Wang, Minggang & Chen, Ying & Tian, Lixin & Jiang, Shumin & Tian, Zihao & Du, Ruijin, 2016. "Fluctuation behavior analysis of international crude oil and gasoline price based on complex network perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 109-127.
    8. Sun, Qingru & Gao, Xiangyun & Zhong, Weiqiong & Liu, Nairong, 2017. "The stability of the international oil trade network from short-term and long-term perspectives," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 482(C), pages 345-356.
    9. An, Qier & An, Haizhong & Wang, Lang & Gao, Xiangyun & Lv, Na, 2015. "Analysis of embodied exergy flow between Chinese industries based on network theory," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 318(C), pages 26-35.
    10. Song, Zhouying & Zhu, Qiaoling & Han, Mengyao, 2021. "Tele-connection of global crude oil network: Comparisons between direct trade and embodied flows," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    11. Shi, Jianglan & Li, Huajiao & Guan, Jianhe & Sun, Xiaoqi & Guan, Qing & Liu, Xiaojia, 2017. "Evolutionary features of global embodied energy flow between sectors: A complex network approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P1), pages 395-405.
    12. Li, Huajiao & An, Haizhong & Liu, Xueyong & Gao, Xiangyun & Fang, Wei & An, Feng, 2016. "Price fluctuation in the energy stock market based on fluctuation and co-fluctuation matrix transmission networks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 117(P1), pages 73-83.
    13. Hao, Xiaoqing & An, Haizhong & Qi, Hai & Gao, Xiangyun, 2016. "Evolution of the exergy flow network embodied in the global fossil energy trade: Based on complex network," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1515-1522.
    14. Sun, Xiaolei & Liu, Chang & Chen, Xiuwen & Li, Jianping, 2017. "Modeling systemic risk of crude oil imports: Case of China’s global oil supply chain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 449-465.
    15. Huan Chen & Lixin Tian & Minggang Wang & Zaili Zhen, 2017. "Analysis of the Dynamic Evolutionary Behavior of American Heating Oil Spot and Futures Price Fluctuation Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-29, April.
    16. Wei, Na & Xie, Wen-Jie & Zhou, Wei-Xing, 2022. "Robustness of the international oil trade network under targeted attacks to economies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    17. Hou, Wenyu & Liu, Huifang & Wang, Hui & Wu, Fengyang, 2018. "Structure and patterns of the international rare earths trade: A complex network analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 133-142.
    18. Wang, Chunhui & Zhong, Weiqiong & Wang, Anjian & Sun, Xiaoqi & Li, Tianjiao & Wang, Xingxing, 2021. "Mapping the evolution of international antimony ores trade pattern based on complex network," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    19. Qing Guan & Haizhong An & Xiaoqing Hao & Xiaoliang Jia, 2016. "The Impact of Countries’ Roles on the International Photovoltaic Trade Pattern: The Complex Networks Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-16, March.
    20. Zhu, Bo & Liu, Jiahao & Lin, Renda & Chevallier, Julien, 2021. "Cross-border systemic risk spillovers in the global oil system: Does the oil trade pattern matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:100:y:2017:i:c:p:365-376. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.