Features and Evolution of Global Energy Trade Patterns from the Perspective of Complex Networks

Abstract

As an integral part of economic trade, energy trade is crucial to international dynamics and national interests. In this study, an international energy trade network is constructed by abstracting countries as nodes and representing energy trade relations as edges. A variety of indicators are designed in terms of networks, nodes, bilaterals, and communities to analyze the temporal and spatial evolution of the global energy trade network from 2001 to 2020. The results indicate that network density and strength have been steadily increasing since the beginning of the 21st century. It is observed that the position of the United States as the core of the international energy market is being impacted by emerging developing countries, thus affecting the existing trade balance based on topological analysis. The weighted analysis of bilateral relations demonstrates that emerging countries such as China, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia are pursuing closer cooperation. The community analysis reveals that an increasing number of countries possess strong energy trade capabilities, resulting in a corresponding increase in energy trade volumes.