Hybrid Ecological Network and Flow-distance Analysis for International Oil Trade

Abstract

Abstract International energy interdependency has been increasing with growing energy trade activities, in which the uneven distributions of energy production and consumption have shaped a structural global market. In this paper, we build a system-oriented network model with ecological network analysis (ENA) to address the roles of countries and their interactions in the international oil trade market. The oil trade flows between countries are calculated, and the control and dependence relationships are explored to reveal the structural properties. Moreover, flow-distance analysis (FDA) is introduced to elucidate the hierarchal level of various countries in the international oil market. The results of ENA show that the control degrees of the US over Canada, Canada over the US, Middle East over India, Australasia over Europe and Other Asia Pacific over Singapore are strong, and the dependence degrees of the US over Canada, Canada over the US, Singapore over Middle East, Singapore over Former Soviet Union are also strong. It can be concluded that the Europe, US and China are the main components consuming the largest quantity of oil and play important roles in the oil trade network.