The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies is a world leading independent energy research institute specialising in advanced research into the economics and politics of international energy across oil, gas and electricity markets.

The UK Government’s net-zero carbon objective has stimulated thinking about the technical options for decarbonizing heat. Less attention has been paid to the policy challenges the goal involves, and in particular the need for a system-wide approach to policy making. This would require a fundamental change in the Government's policy paradigm and the use of innovative policy instruments. So far,...

In 2019, markets focused on China’s slowing GDP growth and on the trade war with the US. In the meantime, bilateral relations soured, highlighting the structural nature of competition between the US and China with the Trump administration working, for example, to limit Huawei’s role in Western telecom networks. Washington’s ‘zero tolerance’ campaign on Iran included sanctions on Chinese traders...

Markets continue to grapple with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on China’s economic growth and demand for commodities. But given that China is now at the heart of global manufacturing supply chains—which in turn fuel demand for petrochemicals—the coronavirus outbreak and the ensuing collapse in economic activity are weighing on both a large importer and exporter of polymers. And...

The September 2019 issue of the Oxford Energy Forum looks at the uncertainties facing the LNG sector as it transitions from its traditional rigid structure to becoming a fully traded commodity. This change is happening during a period of considerable volume growth in the industry, with LNG supply expected to double between 2016 and 2020. In four sections, the publication...

In this podcast, Michal Meidan, director of the China Energy Research Programme at OIES discusses the implications of the coronavirus outbreak for China’s oil, gas and chemicals demand, based on two recent publications. While there are still numerous uncertainties regarding the coronavirus outbreak and therefore its impact on energy demand, the travel restrictions and quarantines introduced by the Chinese government...

Nowadays, oil market observers often start their analysis by pointing to two sets of factors pushing the oil price in opposite directions. On the one hand, supply outages from Iran and Venezuela and the rising geopolitical risks in the Middle East as US-Iran tensions escalate are keeping an upward pressure on the oil price. On the other hand, the US-China...