ABSTRACT
The price of oil is determined in the futures market, in which futures contracts establish agreements to buy and sell oil at a future date. A pandemic forces countries to implement interventions that both reduce human contact and shutter nonessential forms of economic activity. The provision of services declines. Global supply chains sever. Travel decreases. Unemployment rises. An energy sector serves a purpose within the energy system, including power sources, fuels, electricity generation, buildings, industry, and transportation. Every time individuals consume energy to cool their homes, fuel their vehicles, or undertake other energy-intensive activities, they convert energy from one form to another. Energy security —the ability to satisfy energy demand in the absence of high energy prices, environmental degradation, and conflict—remains an important global priority. Public policies and market conditions determine the temporalities for the nature and pace of energy system change, especially with respect to a decline in fossil fuel technology and growth in low-carbon energy.
