International Oil Companies Influence And Role In The World Oil System

International oil companies(IOCs),as a distinct kind of multinational oil companies, have been increasingly becoming important actors in international political economy.To essentially understand the role of IOCs in international relations,we should breakthrough the limitation of traditional theoretical paradigms,which primarily,even exclusively,focus on nation states.This article,therefore,takes IOCs as independent international actors, assumes that nation states and IOCs are dual actors,and puts forward an analytical framework about the world oil system to explore the role and impacts of IOCs.In what this study defines as the world oil system,IOCs,oil producing countries and oil consuming countries are three key kinds of units and actors.These actors interact with one another in a triangular interdependence and constitute a clear hierarchical structure. The world oil system is a combination of resource,power,and capital.Its ordering principle mainly complies with the realist theory of power,according to which the structure of the world oil system is ultimately determined by the distribution of power among actors.IOCs,as bridges linking oil resource,national power,and developed capital, form an asymmetric triangular interdependence with oil producing countries and oil consuming countries.On the one hand,IOCs,and developed consuming countries as well, lie at the top of the power structure or in the core of the world oil system,because of their advantages both in material power resources(such as capital,technology,management, marketing,economic and military capabilities,etc) and non-material power resources(i.e., their prestigious positions in the systems of international politics,economy,finance,oil market,trade,industry,and division of labors,etc).On the other hand,most oil producing countries generally lie at the bottom of the power structure and in the periphery of the world oil system,because their power resources mainly derive from their petroleum and their ability to transform their power potentials into real is quite limited.In a word,the power structure of the world oil system could be mainly characterized as the dichotomy of "core-periphery",although this structure is changing with times.The stability of the world oil system is directly related to the situation of triangular interdependence.However,the chain breaking of this interdependence does not necessarily lead to a structural change of the system.The fundamental factor that results in the transformation of the world oil system is the systemic change of its power structure.A sea change in the balance of power among the three actors will inevitably lead to a structural change of the world oil system.The newly formed power structure will reshape their triangular interdependence and redefine the "core-periphery" structure of the world oil system.It should be noted that IOCs play key roles in forming the structure of the world oil system and its model of interaction as well.And this is clearly evident in the process of the development and change of the world oil system.Two historical events,the 1973 Oil Crisis and the end of the Cold War,are two turning points differentiating the impacts of IOCs on the world oil system.From the end of WWII to the 1973 Oil Crisis,IOCs(i.e.,the so called "Seven Sisters"),together with developed consuming countries(mainly the USA),established and maintained their role as the power center of the world oil system.The 1973 Oil Crisis substantially changed the structure of the world oil system.IOCs and developed consuming countries were significantly weakened,with their power position in the world oil system being overturned by the Arabic oil producing countries.Or in other words,the Arabic oil producing countries entered into the core and broke the monopoly of the power center by both IOCs and developed consuming countries in the world oil system.However,the result of systemic structural change of this time was not lasting.During the period from 1973 to the end of the Cold War,some changes occurred in the world oil system.The OPEC countries fell from the power top of the world oil system to a lower level,because their ability to employ their power resources of petroleum was strictly limited and they lack other kinds of power resources besides oil so that they could not sustain their leading role in the world oil system.On the contrary,IOCs and developed oil producing countries quickly returned to the center of the world oil system,because they could make strategic adjustments and promote their power position by taking advantages of their both material and non-material power resources.As a result of this structural change,the world oil system became multi-centered,with power being decentralized in a multiple complex interdependence.In the "core-periphery" structure of the world oil system,the core was shared by IOCs,developed consuming countries(mainly the USA), and leading OPEC members(i.e.,Saudi Arabia),forming a kind of power axis,while other oil producing countries and undeveloped oil consuming countries still lied in the periphery.With the end of the Cold War,Russia as strong oil producing country and national oil companies(NOCs,the so called "New Seven Sisters") are emerging.They not only pose direct challenges to globalizing IOCs,but also bring great impacts on the world oil system. The power structure of the world oil system is undergoing a new round of transformation. A new pattern of power distribution in the core might be in forming,with developed consuming countries and IOCs as one pole,and strong oil producing countries and NOCs as another,similar to a bipolar model in international politics.The traditional power structure of "single core-periphery" might be evolving into a new type of "dual core-periphery".In the past structure,developed consuming countries and IOCs lie in the core,while weak oil producing countries and undeveloped oil consuming countries in the periphery.In the emerging structure,however,there might be two competing cores, developed consuming countries and IOCs plus strong oil producing countries and NOCs, even though the actors that occupy the periphery are the same.Along with the change of the world oil system since the end of WWII,IOCs have changed their role from petroleum monopolizer and market controller to resource seeker and provider of capital,technology,and market.Despite of their changing role and increasing challenges,IOCs can always manage to find solutions and further develop. Historically speaking,IOCs,as independent international actors with distinct power resources,are always indispensable players in the world oil system and key pillars that sustain its structure and keep it working.