Dr Xiaoyi (Shawn) Mu is Professor of Energy Economics at Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP). He joined the centre in 2008 Before joining the Centre, between 2006 and 2008, he was a Senior Consultant at Global Energy Decisions (now ABB Ventyx) in California, providing advisory services on electricity prices and asset valuation of power plants. From 1994 to 2000, he worked as an analyst and manager at the headquarters of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and PetroChina, in the refining and marketing division, and natural gas and pipelines division.

Dr Mu is a member of International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) and won two Best Student Paper Awards (first places) in its international and North American Conferences. His research interest includes commodity pricing and volatility, industrial organization and strategies of energy companies, regulation and restructuring of energy industries, and China's energy policy. Dr Mu's papers have appeared in such journals as Economic Inquiry, Energy Economics, Energy Journal, Energy Policy, and Journal of Industrial Economics.

He is currently the Academic Lead for MSc Energy Studies and Management programme at the Centre and the Academic Lead for Partnership and Mobility at School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law.

• Industrial organization and strategies of energy companies
  
• Commodity pricing and volatility
• Regulation and restructuring of energy industries
• China's energy policy

Petroleum Economics and Policy (CP51009)

The aim of this module is to equip students with the economic, technical, and institutional knowledge for understanding the working of the international petroleum industry and to develop students’ capacity in analyzing the economic and policy problems associated with international oil and gas markets. The module is organized along the petroleum product value chain, such as exploration and development, production, refining and marketing, and natural gas monetization. By completing this module, students should have the knowledge and understanding of demand, supply and price dynamics of oil, gas and refined petroleum products and the skills to analyze trends and issues in oil and gas markets and to evaluate petroleum projects, contracts, and policies. The module is designed for an interdisciplinary audience and will not require a background in economics.

Economics of Regulation and Restructuring of Energy Industries

This main aim of the module is to introduce students to the rational for and methods of economic regulation in energy and infrastructure industries, such as the rate-of-return regulation, price-cap regulation and franchise bidding; the issues related to regulation and deregulation; and the reasons for and pathways of restructuring of energy industries. It draws upon recent theoretical and empirical advances in public economics and industrial organization and is intended to provide students with an analytical framework for regulatory and public policy analysis and a rigorous foundation for further study.