An Analysis on the Role of Consumption Space Effect in the World Petroleum Trade Pattern Formation

Abstract

Based on the historical facts of classic spatial pattern, this paper analyzes the spatial effects of petroleum consumption on the trade pattern formation in different historical stages; analyses the development of transport and petrochemical industry, petroleum coal’s comparative advantages, government’s promotion and price’s impacts on consumption; concludes that the consumption volume and production capacity of a trading country are both the important factors to decide the trading country’s nature, and a country’s consumption change also directly affects the oil trading spatial pattern.
Consumption is an important factor in determining the nature of a trading country. An increase in trade consumption will make the country use more oil production to meet its own needs, and reduce the volume of oil export. Conversely, consumption reduction can lead to an increase in export. Therefore, the consumption volume and production capacity of a trading country are both the important factors to decide the trading country’s nature, and a country’s consumption change also directly affects the oil trading spatial pattern.