Dr Xiaoyi (Shawn) Mu is a Reader in Energy Economics at Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP). He joined the centre in 2008 as a Lecture and promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2012 and Reader in 2016. 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 been appeared in such journals as Economic Inquiry, Energy Economics, Energy Journal, Energy Policy, and Journal of Industrial Economics.

He is currently the co-Director of the MSc Energy Studies and Management programme and Director of the PhD programme for CEPMLP.

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.