Course Syllabus
Contact Information
Course Description
This course covers the topics related to the economic analysis of the energy industry markets at both the domestic and international levels. The natural gas market is at the center of our analysis but other topics such as energy scenarios, energy demand and supply analyses, determination of prices under different market structures, various energy sectors, role of energy efficiency, and energy policy will be discussed. We will examine a few specific energy markets including the global oil, natural gas, electricity, and coal markets.
Course Objectives:
- Demonstrate a big picture understanding of various segments of the energy markets and their connections
- Understand and apply results in the energy scenario models to specific decisions
- Understand cost curves as well as supply and demand dynamics and their implications for investment decisions
- Apply a basic microeconomic model to describe the production, pricing, and consumption of energy.
- Apply the tools of economics to assess contemporary issues in energy markets
Course Details
For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course Prerequisites
- Basic mathematics and calculus including understanding simple functions and their derivatives
- Ability to organize data and run simple calculations in Excel
Course Materials
Suggested Textbooks
- Schwarz, P., 2018, “Energy Economics”, Rutledge
- Nersesian, R.L., 2016, Energy Economics: Markets, History and Policy”, Routledge.
Additional Textbooks
- Bhattacharyya, S. 2011. “Energy Economics: Concepts, Issues, Markets and Governance”, Springer-Verlag.
- OU Libraries Online Access
- https://ou-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1hp8lf/NORMANLAW_ALMA51454177710002042
- Evans, J., and Hunt, L. C., 2011, eds. "International Handbook on the Economics of Energy." Edward Elgar Pub
- Rubino, A., Sapio, A. and La Scala, M. eds., 2021. “Handbook of energy economics and policy: Fundamentals and applications for engineers and energy planners”, Elsevier.
No single textbook is required. Selected chapters of the recommended textbooks are available through the OU library or will be shared on Canvas.
Required software: Excel
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Description | Points/Percentage |
|---|---|---|
|
Weekly quizzes |
Weekly online quizzes (8-10 questions) and assignments testing basic knowledge of the topics covered that week. |
25* |
|
Class participation |
Participation in forum discussions |
15 |
|
Course project |
A team-based activity to apply concepts and models of the course to a specific real-world problem |
30 |
|
Final Exam |
A written online exam measuring understanding of concepts and the ability to analyze real-world problems. |
30 |
| Total | 100 |
* I will drop the quiz with the lowest score. Thus, you can miss one quiz with no penalty.
Scale
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 90–100% | A |
| 80–89% | B |
| 70–79% | C |
| 60–69% | D |
| Below 60% | F |
Course Components
The course involves a combination of teaching and learning methods. It will combine course videos, online discussion boards, online quizzes and exercises, and a project case analysis to motivate students and train them in the appropriate use of energy economics topics and concepts.
Course Component 1: Videos
A series of videos will be shared to provide students with basic knowledge about each module.
Course Component 2: Quizzes
Weekly quizzes encourage students review concepts that are covered through that week.
Course Component 3: Team Project
Student teams (consisting of 2-3 students) pick one emerging issue in the energy industry and will make use of concepts and techniques learned in the class to produce in-depth analysis of various forces around the issue. The final outcome is expected to be a short presentation (around 12-15 min)/ or a video (12 minutes) as we as a 10000-word final report.
Course Component 4: Discussion boards
Student will receive credit for class participating through their activities in the online discussion board and assignments. Student can participate through either starting a new thread or commenting on existing threads.
Exams
The course concludes by a final exam that tests students basic understanding of fundamental topics as well as their ability to apply concepts and techniques learned in the class for various real-world problems.
Course Policies
Academic Integrity
Strict adherence to the highest standards of academic honesty is essential for a trusting and productive learning environment. I expect you to make it explicitly clear whenever you use someone else’s ideas in your work. This includes your work on both final project and the class assignments such as homework and labs.
Ethics and Cooperation: You are allowed to discuss lecture and textbook materials, and how to approach quizzes and assignments. You cannot share ideas in any written form: slides, reports, or solutions. You cannot submit someone else's work found through the internet or any other source, or a modification of that work, with or without that person's knowledge, regardless of the circumstances under which it was obtained, copied, or modified. Of course, no cooperation is allowed during exams.
The vast majority of students at OU does their work honestly and expects that all will be graded on merit. In order to ensure fair grades, cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. We will abide by OU’s policy You are responsible for knowing what plagiarism is. If you have questions, information is available in the University Policies below.
Sanctions for cheating and plagiarism will be an “F” for the course, and the misconduct will be reported.
Communication
Communications can be done through email or Canvas message. I do my best to respond to emails in less than 24 hours (during the weekdays) and 48 hours during weekends. If you do not hear back from me after 48 hours, please assume that I have not received your message and do send me a reminder.
Late Policy
- Students are allowed to miss one quiz. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped.
- Late assignments will receive 10% penalty per day.
Course Evaluations
The Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering utilizes student ratings as one of the bases for evaluation in the teaching effectiveness of each of its faculty members. The results of these ratings are important data used by the faculty members to improve their own teaching effectiveness, and programs use the data to assess achievement of a set of learning outcomes. The original request for the use of these forms came from students, and it is the students who eventually benefit most from their use. Please take this task seriously, evaluate courses on-line, and respond as honestly and precisely as possible, both to the machine-scored items and to the open-ended questions. We appreciate your feedback.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|