Abstract：
The new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted much of the global economy, and the oil market has
been one of the hardest-hit sectors. Global oil demand was expected to decline greatly in 2020 as the impact of the COVID-19
spreads around the world. An oil price war broke out between Russia, the world’s largest crude oil producer, and Saudi Arabia,
the world’s largest oil exporter, in order to compete for global market share, which aggravated the collapse of the oil price and the
turmoil on the international oil market. Thus, the geopolitical role of the global oil issue becomes more prominent. Behind this
is the game of petroleum power, i.e. the struggle and use of geopolitical power in the international petroleum system, named as
petroleum power in this paper. In the present study, a new global petroleum power index system is proposed based on the theory
of petroleum power and from the perspectives of geopolitics, international relations and political economy theories, As well, a
global petroleum power indicator system was proposed and the temporal and spatial evolution of the petroleum power index
of major oil and gas-rich countries are evaluated quantitatively, including secondary indicators covering oil and gas resources,
cross-border transportation, international oil and gas markets and national strength. Based on the energy geo-interaction
between oil and gas-rich countries and China, the influence index of major oil and gas-rich countries on China and its evolution
characteristics are analyzed quantitatively. This involved the petroleum power of oil and gas-rich countries, diplomatic relations
between China and oil and gas-rich countries, security of cross-border transport between China and oil and gas-rich countries,
China’s dependence on oil and gas-rich countries and the dependence of oil and gas-rich countries on China. The results show
that: (i) In the current international petroleum geopolitics system, a “3+X” petroleum geopolitical pattern was formed. Russia,
Saudi Arabia and the United States are the three key players in petroleum geopolitics in the global level. (ii) In recent years, the
petroleum power index of the main oil and gas-rich countries has increased. (iii) The United States, Iraq, Australia, Qatar and
other countries of western coalition have increasing influence on China. On the other hand, Iran, Venezuela, Kazakhstan and
other oil and gas-rich countries, are China’s traditional friendly partners, but their influence has decreased significantly. (iv) In
the context of COVID-19, the structural characteristics of petroleum power are more prominent, which helps to further enhance
China’s petroleum power index and its potential influence in the international oil geopolitics system.
