The Topology of International Fuel Trade Network and Iran’s Stance in this Network

The concentration of fossil fuel resources in specific geographic regions of the world and the strategic nature of fuel as a tradable commodity has created an intertwined and complex network of trade relationships among importing and exporting countries of fuel. In this research, using Graph Theory, the topology of the fuel trade network in 1995 and 2017 is analyzed and the position and significance of the main actors of the fuel trade were evaluated. The results show that the fuel trade network is a fully connected network with different growth patterns of trade clusters. It was also observed that countries with higher export share do not necessarily have a greater influence on the volume of fuel trade. While increasing the share of fuel trade, countries tend to trade beyond trade clusters. We also found that changes in trade clusters indicate a more regionalized trade in fuel. Finally, the results show a decrease in Iran's influence in fuel trade.