The introduction of competition to China's petroleum sector: a policy analysis

The Chinese market for petroleum has been controlled by three dominant companies since 1998. The circumstances have however, changed since China’s inclusion in the WTO as policy makers now desire a more competitive market. The goal of this paper is to analyze the different economic factors that pose impact on the Chinese petroleum market as the market shifts from monopoly environment to the new competitive market. Observations will be made on the few dominant firms and their role in shaping a big, albeit problematic market. To do this, the profit level for these firms will be compared with similar companies elsewhere. Aside from the dominant firms, China also faced a problem regarding gasoline shortage in recent times. Foreign investment also played a big part in the history of the market. A brief overview of Russia’s petroleum industry as well as some of its distinctive characteristics will also be discussed.