International Energy Market Research Articles

Energy Security and Latin American NOC

There are two strategies to obtain energy security in the international energy market; the first emphasizes the role of market forces and the second champions the role of national oil companies (NOCs) in the energy market. This article presents cases studies of Latin American's NOCs to provide lessons regarding the formulation of energy security policy. The findings are that some NOCs in Latin America operate with an enterprise orientation whereas others operate under governmental agendas with noncommercial priorities.

Energy products - one of supporting pillars of geopolitical power of Russia

The pillars of the Russian political power are as follows: nuclear power, the United Nations veto power, possession and trade in energy products. In comparison with other countries on the international energy market Russia has enormous energy and mineral resources. It uses them as an instrument of pursuing of its foreign policy and gaining regional and global power. Building of the South Stream enables Russia to expand its power in the Mediterranean, South Europe and in the African pipeline areas. Russia has developed several projects covering a broader Euro-Asian and Mediterranean area. In this way, it has positioned itself for a global energy acting through which it attempts to achieve its aim of exerting its global political influence establishing itself as a global energy super power.

The Oil Politics & Geopolitical Risks with China “Going out” Strategy toward the Greater Middle East

:China- the Greater Middle East oil relations are of strategic importance to China's energy security. Beijing's energy security is mainly that of geopolitics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). As the geopolitical conflicts in the MENA are defined as long-running and insolvable in the foreseeable future, oil supplies from these regions are inevitably unstable, which exerts direct impact not only on international energy market and oil prices, but also on China's energy security itself. Despite the substantial progress made ever the years in China-the Greater Middle East energy cooperation, restrictive factors such as resource nationalism are many, obstructing further development in this regard. Up to date, major cooperative breakthroughs are yet to be achieved in China's involvement in the exploration and production of the upstream sector in oil-rich Gulf countries. Pipeline politics is another challenge. Overall, China's incapability and policy for oil politics and geopolitical risks, the energy geopolitical risk will pose long-term impact on China's energy security. Accordingly, the paper tries to come up with some reflection concerning policies or policy proposals that may help to push China-the Greater Middle Eastern energy cooperation.

Prospects for Cooperation of Russian and French Multinational Energy Companies on the Basis of National Energy Strategies

The article analyses possible areas of mutually advantageous cooperation of Russian and French multinational energy companies enabling Russia to upgrade its fuel-energy complex and attract adequate investments for large-scale projects realization and France can benefit by participating in new gas mains construction for diversifying its energy supplies and by acquiring shares of Russian multinational energy companies in order to resolve national energy security problem and strengthen its position in the international energy market.

The Role of the OPEC in the International Energy Market

The paper analyzes the policy of OPEC and its influence on the global prices of oil during different periods of the history of Cartel since its foundation till now. Particularly it provides information about the prehistory of the establishment of the Organization in the beginning of 60s of the last century and its First Steps. The research goes deeply through the role of the OPEC in causing the first oil shock (1973 – 1975) and the second oil shock (1979 – 1980). The paper includes the main reasons of the collapse of oil prices in the 1980s and the low prices in the 1990s. Furthermore, it analyzes the role of OPEC and main reasons of the uprising prices on Oil in 2000s and policy of the cartel during International financial crises (2008 – 2010).

Governing China’s Energy in the Context of Global Governance

Abstract This article seeks to understand what role China can and will play in global energy governance by examining how its domestic energy context shapes the country’s attitudes toward the multilateral, market and climate change aspects of global energy governance. It finds that China demonstrates a preference for bilateral/regional to multilateral energy institutions, exhibits an inclination to blend state and market when pursuing energy security, and shows a principally consistent but pragmatically flexible approach to global negotiations on climate change. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, China’s engagement with the international energy order suggests that a rising and energy-hungry China has not and is unlikely to upset the very system that has benefited and will continue to benefit the country. Instead, this article argues that China has shown signs and promises of contributing to global energy governance by offering financial, technical solutions and stimulating the world to develop clean energy. However, energy governance in China has experienced considerable capacity decay in the era of reform and globalization. This decay not only bodes ill for the country’s ability to lead in global energy governance but also complicates international attempts to engage China on complex energy and climate challenges. Policy Implications • The fragmentation of the central government in China, together with the rise of substate actors and state-owned flagship energy corporations in the country’s energy governance, means that it is unrealistic to expect China to have a unified view and voice on global energy governance in the near term. • In light of the fundamental interests of China to engage the international system, the country’s absence from the world’s most important multilateral energy institutions says as much about its reluctance to join these restrictive organizations as these organizations’ lack of seriousness to engage China. • The blending of market tools to a state-dominated energy economy characterizes China’s state capitalism approach to addressing complex energy challenges and the country has largely exported this approach when it engages the international energy market. • China’s staunch positions on climate change bespeak its preoccupation with development, but its changing attitudes toward key issues in global climate negotiations reflect its flexible and pragmatic approach to development. • To seek effective participation from China in global energy governance, the international community cannot engage Beijing alone; instead, it must also engage local governments in China that have gained autonomy over energy affairs and those restructured and partially marketized energy SOEs that have exhibited entrepreneurship in shaping and implementing the country’s energy and climate policies.

Several Problems of Established Energy Strategy of China Scientifically

Abstract Since the reform and opening up, the energy strategy and policy of China have got significant achievement,but it still exists a great space to improve. Maybe the most important problem lay on the following: In consciousness, it needs the constraint of “determinacy” and “Indeterminacy” on conception and form the conscious behavior of “Sustainable Fairly Large-scale”. Tactically, introspect the overall consideration between energy self-sufficient of China and the development of international energy market, explore and utilize disposable energy effectively by energy saving and emission reduction. At the same time, we should pay high attention to the game of Energy Strategy with other leading powers; especially establish the strength of ocean as soon as possible, which can guarantee our energy supply securityand stability.

Research on the current situations and countermeasures for the energy security in China

Abstract Concretely, main problems in that security are analyzed, which are considered to affect China and mostly embody in such five big areas as the great pressure in energy supply, the scarcity of relative energy resources, the shortage of green energy, the relative backwardness of energy technology and the drastic change of the international energy market; furthermore the counter-measures concerned are proposed, including perfecting the laws in energy, carrying out the diplomacy in energy actively and initiatively, saving energy and increasin g the energy utilization rate, developing the new technology of energy resources forcefully and expanding green energy and new types of energy.

The development of the German energy market until 2030—A critical survey of selected scenarios

Many scenarios have been generated in the last years analysing the international energy market. The variety of these scenarios is manifold, as they are generated by different institutions using different methodological approaches and different framework assumptions. However, these scenarios can roughly be classified into three main groups: “moderate”, “climate protection” and “resource scarcity and high fossil fuel prices”. Analysing the German energy market makes a fourth scenario group necessary, which considers the possible revision of the decided nuclear energy phase out. Most of the existing scenarios developed by different institutions can be allocated into one of these groups. A representative scenario for each group has been selected to illustrate the development of the energy sector until 2030. Contrary to the worldwide primary energy demand (PED), the German PED decreases in each scenario, even though the drop differs strongly throughout the scenarios. On the other hand the structure of the PED in 2030 varies strongly for each scenario, especially regarding the share of fossil energy sources. However, a common robust result can be observed throughout all scenarios, namely the high increase in the share of the renewable energy resources, although the scenario generation processes are not always robust.

The temporal and spatial patterns and potential evaluation of China’s energy resources development

The issue of China’s energy supply security is not only the key problem which affects China’s rapid and sustainable development in the 21st century, but also the one which international attention focuses on. Based on the notable characteristic of spatial imbalance between energy production and consumption in China, this paper takes the evolution of China’s primary energy resources development(excluding hydropower) from 1949 to 2007 as the study object, with the aim to sum up the evolutive characteristics and laws of China’s energy resources development in the past nearly 60 years. Then, based on comprehensive considerations of coal’s, oil’s and natural gas’s basic reserves, qualities, geological conditions, production status, and ecological service function of every province, this paper adopts development potential index (DP)to evaluate the development potential of every province’s energy resources, and divide them into different ranks. Conclusions are drawn as follows: (1) Generally speaking, China’s gross energy production was increasing in waves from 1949 to 2007. From the viewpoint of spatial patterns, China’s energy resources development has shown a characteristic of “concentrating to the north and central areas, and evolving from linear-shaped to “T-shaped” pattern gradually since 1949. (2) The structure evolution of China’s energy resources development in general has shown a trend of “coal proportion is dominant but decreasing, while oil and gas proportions are increasing” since 1949. (3) At the provincial scale, China’s energy resources development potential could be divided into large, sub-large, general and small ranks, four in all. In the future, the spatial pattern of China’s energy production will evolve from “T-shaped” to “Π-shaped pattern”. These conclusions will help to clarify the temporal and spatial characteristics and laws of China’s energy resources development, and will be beneficial for China to design scientific and rational energy development strategies and plans, coordinate spatial imbalance of energy production and consumption, ensure national energy supply, avoid energy resources waste and disorderly development, and promote regional sustainable development under the globalization background with changeful international energy market.

Consumers' Cartel No Panacea to Resource Nationalism

With the price of oil crossing $110 a barrel, the oil-importing countries' concerns have been mounting. Not surprisingly, the issue of whether the time is now ripe for energy consuming countries to take measures to counter the producers' growing clout is being discussed, including the formation of a consumers' cartel, to force exporters to bring down prices. This paper looks at attempts by consumers to counter the growing clout of the producers, whether such attempts will succeed or whether they will exacerbate the divisive trends that have recently surfaced in the international energy market.

Chinese National Oil Companies and Human Rights

China's efforts to secure foreign oil and natural gas to meet its growing energy demand are contributing to massive human rights violations in Sudan and Burma. These human rights conflicts, significantly influenced by abundant oil and gas reserves, have strained U.S.-China relations and complicated international efforts to create a more effective architecture to address both rights crises and conflict management over energy resources. The United States and its allies should not only engage Beijing but also bring Chinese national oil companies into the international energy market as stakeholders. Failure to address these matters could encourage other parties seeking scarce energy supplies to take similar compromises on human rights as they court questionable oil regimes, a development that would be detrimental to international peace and security.

Developing Alberta's Oil Sands: From Karl Clark to Kyoto (review)

Reviewed by: Developing Alberta's Oil Sands: From Karl Clark to Kyoto Bonar A. Gow Developing Alberta's Oil Sands: From Karl Clark to Kyoto. Paul Chastko. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2004. Pp. 320, $44.95 Developing Alberta's Oil Sands is a well-researched, well-written, tightly argued book. In Part One (to 1945) the author reveals the early history of the sands and the complicated manoeuvres carried out by the federal and provincial governments over its development. Until 1930, Chastko points out, the federal government controlled research on the tar sands and retained ownership of the resources of Western Canada, and this led to countless disputes over who could or could not carry out experimentation on, and then refine them. Acrimony between the two levels of government marked these years, but there was a bright spot – Karl Clark at the University of Alberta and the Scientific and Industrial Research Council. As a result, in large part of Clark's work on the hot-water extraction process, both levels of government saw the sands as a practical source of energy as the Second World War approached. Absand, a private concern operating with the permission of Ottawa, ran a problem-plagued operation during the war, but did show that oil could be abstracted from the sands. The plant's future was anything but secure as long as Ottawa ignored Alberta's expertise and brought in outsiders, who insisted on separation techniques that were certain to fail. In the end (1945), Ottawa washed its hands of the oil sands project. The provincial government continued to invest in the oil sands for two reasons: It believed the project was feasible and there was no alternative. As the author points out, until the early 1970s, the sands were left to Edmonton to experiment with and to exploit. The problems were many, and although the oil strikes at Leduc and elsewhere drew attention away [End Page 162] from synthetic fuels, Edmonton continued with the project. Chastko leads his readers through the labyrinth from the late forties until the early seventies, backlighting the passage of events in Alberta with the image of the United States and its position in the international energy market. One important question dominated the discussion: Could a barrel of oil sands oil compete with a barrel of conventional oil? If it could not, the oil sands project made no sense. When commercial development of the sands began in 1960, it sprang from the union of American interest, American capital, and access to American markets; the Americans believed that at some future date synthetic oil would be able to compete. The Social Credit government of E.C. Manning had walked a narrow path between developing the sands for the future and ensuring that conventional oil would not be displaced by it. Manning, looking ahead, encouraged the Syncrude group (1968) to submit a plan to exploit the sands. The 1973 OPEC oil embargo demonstrated the wisdom of his decision and added urgency to the development of the sands as a viable energy source. Peter Lougheed's Conservative Party took power in 1971 and, as the author points out, immediately indicated that his government would not be handling the conventional oil companies with kid gloves. Moreover, Lougheed was prepared to tackle Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau over energy questions. Chastko effectively analyses the Ottawa-Alberta shoving match, the creation of Petro Canada, and the National Energy Policy. The NEP tinkered with the price of oil as well as the conditions under which it could be sold and introduced new taxes to skim off billions of energy dollars and direct them from the province to Ottawa. Ottawa also took away the structure capable of establishing the true value of synthetic crude and invented its own, causing investors to back away from synthetic fuel projects. Oil sands development could not afford to turn back or go forward. In Chastko's words, 'In effect, the NEP gutted the oil patch and severely jeopardized the country's energy future.' Furthermore, he claims, it set the development of the oil sands back by five years. The eighties and nineties, says the author, marked a new beginning for the oil...

BOOK REVIEW

BOOK REVIEW

The international pressures on the energy market in Iberian America and Brazil

This paper analyses Brazilian nuclear energy history, and addresses recent events, such as the international political pressures, the International Atomic Energy Agency/IAEA position, the new facts about nuclear energy in the world, the international energy market and the Iberian-America, the news about the Brazilian nuclear energy area, the best opportunities of good business in the Brazilian nuclear sector, the Brazilian Government and the Brazilian public position, in relation to International Law.

The evolving UK wind energy industry: critical policy and management aspects of the emerging research agenda

AbstractIn recent years, renewable energy – and in particular wind power – has come to the fore of both international and UK national environmental policy debates. In addition to helping to meet its Kyoto obligations, the British Government has indicated its desire for a much larger slice of the international wind energy market, and has consequently developed a national strategy to stimulate a more vibrant UK wind energy industry. With this in mind, the British Government's Climate Change Programme (DETR, 2000) and more recent Energy White Paper (DTI, 2003) outline the UK energy strategy for the coming two decades, with wind power featuring as a core component. This article critically considers the prospects for the development of a wind energy industry in the UK and introduces five strategic opportunities and five strategic barriers in this evolving segment of the energy market. The article concludes with recommendations to enhance public acceptance of wind energy and four important areas for future research are outlined. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

An Integrated Assessment Model of Economy-Energy-Climate - The Model Wiagem

This paper presents an integrated economy-energy-climate model WIAGEM (World Integrated Assessment General Equilibrium Model) incorporating economic, energy and climatic modules in an integrated assessment approach. To evaluate market and nonmarket costs and benefits of climate change, WIAGEM combines an economic approach with a special focus on the international energy market, and integrates climate interrelations with temperature changes and sea level variations. WIAGEM is based on 25 world regions aggregated to 11 trading regions, each with 14 sectors. The representation of the economic relations is based on an intertemporal general equilibrium approach and contains the international markets for oil, coal and gas. The model incorporates all greenhouse gases (GHG) influencing potential global temperature, sea level variation and the assessed probable impacts in terms of climate change costs and benefits. Market and non-market damages are evaluated according to the impact assessment approaches of Tol [1]. Additionally, this model includes net changes in GHG-source emissions as well as removals by sinks resulting from land use change and de-foresting activities. This paper describes the model structure in detail and outlines general results with emphasis on the impacts of climate change. As a result, climate change impacts are significant within the next 50 years; developing regions face high economic losses in terms of welfare and GDP losses resulting from sinks and other GHG changes.

Economy-Energy-Climate Interaction: The Model Wiagem

This paper presents an integrated economy-energy-climate model WIAGEM (World Integrated Assessment General Equilibrium Model) which incorporates economic, energetic and climatic modules in an integrated assessment approach. In order to evaluate market and non –market costs and benefits of climate change WIAGEM combines an economic approach with a special focus on the international energy market and integrates climate interrelations by temperature changes and sea level variations. WIAGEM bases on 25 world regions which are aggregated to 11 trading regions and 14 sectors within each region. The representation of the economic relations is based on an intertemporal general equilibrium approach and contains the international markets for oil, coal and gas. The model incorporates all greenhouse gases (GHG) which influence the potential global temperature, the sea level variation and the assessed probable impacts in terms of costs and benefits of climate change. Market and non market damages are evaluated due to the damage costs approaches of Tol (2001). Additionally, this model includes net changes in GHG emissions from sources and removals by sinks resulting from land use change and forest activities. This paper describes the model structure in detail and outlines some general results, especially the impacts of climate change. As a result, climate change impacts do matter within the next 50 years, developing regions face high economic losses in terms of welfare and GDP losses. The inclusion of sinks and other GHG changes results significantly.

ORIMULSION®: RESEARCH AND TESTING AND OPEN WATER CONTAINMENT AND RECOVERY TRIALS

ABSTRACT Orimulsion is a bitumen-water mixture (approximately 70% bitumen and 30% water, with 0.2% surfactant) produced in Venezuela and sold internationally as a fuel to fire power plants. The permitting process for the introduction of this fuel into the international energy market has required extensive research and testing on its chemical composition, physical properties, behavior in water, environmental toxicity, and containment and recovery after a spill. Both components (water and bitumen) initially disperse in water. The volatile compounds, which are relatively low in concentration, are contained mostly in the water component. The bitumen is relatively inert. The density of the bitumen tends to cause it to sink in fresh water and rise in saltwater. In addition, seawater causes the emulsifier to destabilize from the bitumen. The result is that, at sea, in calm conditions with sufficient concentration, the bitumen will tend to coalesce and rise to the surface. Bitor and potential users of Orimulsion have been developing response strategies and tools for responding to Orimulsion spills. Recent field testing has shown that a spill of Orimulsion can be cleaned up using currently available response equipment in response strategies developed uniquely for Orimulsion. The tests have shown that, once contained, bitumen can be recovered from an Orimulsion spill very effectively (80% to 90% recovery).

Productive energy consumption and economic growth: An endogenous growth model and its empirical application

Economic growth rate rises initially with productive energy expenditures but subsequently declines. The hypothetical social planner might set optimal energy intensity. The optimal growth rate is attained at the point where energy expenditure is equal to its competitive market share. When the imperfect competitiveness of the international energy market makes the economy deviate from the optimal state, the role of the government to make the private sector change its energy use pattern becomes important. By the same token, when the world energy market is competitive, the distortionary energy price control by government may harm the economy in the long run.