Multiplex cross-shareholding relations in the global oil & gas industry chain based on multilayer network modeling

Abstract

Abstract Capturing the interactive shareholding relations among agents of the oil & gas industry chain is an important topic for obtaining a better understanding of the ownership and structure of the global oil & gas market. This paper proposes a multilayer cross-shareholding network method to map the multiplex cross-shareholding relations in the global oil & gas industry chain from the reciprocated, trilateral and largest component perspectives. The results show the following: (1) The cross-shareholding behavior among the listed oil & gas companies is a more popular shareholding pattern for the energy giants (the top 17.49% of companies that make up approximately 60.43% of the total market value). (2) Few (only 9 pairs between different companies) are reciprocated, and most of them belong to Israel, Japan, India, etc. (3) The “co-shareholder type” is the most critical trilateral relation in the global oil & gas industry. (4) The companies from Israel, Japan, and the Marshall Islands formed powerful alliances in different single layers, and the companies from Japan and India formed powerful alliances with cross-layer cross-shareholding relations. This paper is useful for understanding the ownership and alliance structures and the interactions of the oil & gas industry chain, and it can also provide a new perspective to determine the systemic risk paths.