National Energy Policies of the Russian Federation and its implications on the regional economies

An analysis of the relationship between national and regional energy policies to regional economies: A case study of Tatarstan regions and Khanty Mansi Autonomous Okrug

Content:

Abstract

Chapter 1. Introduction

a. Objectives

b. Conceptual Framework

c. Limitations

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3. The Introduction to Regions

a. The Tatarstan Region: the role of the energy sector in the development of the region’s economic foundation

b. The Khanty Mansi Autonomous Okrug: How do energy resources construct the region’s economy?

Chapter 4: The role of the energy industry in the future development of regions

a. From the core to its peripheries: the role of the National Energy Policies in constructing the regional energy foundation

b. The role of regions in shaping the National Energy Policy of the Russian Federation

Chapter 5: The learning curve: the adaptation of the energy sector to the sanction of 2014 and reaching of the global COVID-19 pandemic

a. The annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and strong response from the EU: first package of sanctions and their implication to the energy sector in Russia

Chapter 6: Conclusion

a. The core remains unbreakable: the failure of the hypothesis to sustain

Bibliography

Abstract

The national energy policy is a complex web which is determined by various factors. These policies in turn shape regional response to the energy production, located on their territory. However, there is little said about how each region can shape the core national policy and the reasons for these objectives. Therefore, this paper is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between national energy policies and regional economic development.

The trajectory of the research goes as follows: looking at the specifics of the oil industry of Russia, more importantly, the problems which are associated with the production and outside factors which include global oil prices and economic sanctions directed towards the state of Russia. This, on the other hand, allows us to understand how the national energy policy is designed. The regional policy partly derives from the overall national energy strategy and thus it is noticeable that there are some overlaps. However, the specifics of each region including the level of development, the share of oil production, and geographical qualities tailor each policy outline. Aside from determining the relationship between the core and its peripheries, this paper aims to determine the role of energy production in the individual economy of each region.

The level of FDI in the oil industry in each region, as this paper argues, serves as an indicator for determining the level of importance of energy production for each region. In order to analyse the levels of FDI in the oil sector, the factors that influence the attractiveness of the oil industry in Russia are put under scrutiny. Having discussed what deters or attracts the investment, the factors that are external, such as economic sanctions or the fluctuations in oil prices, or internal, including institutional structures, legal frameworks, and taxation policies, it becomes clearer whether regional energy policies aim to facilitate higher levels of FDI due to the higher importance of the energy sector in region’s economy. Moreover, following the analysis of the findings, this paper presents that the emphasis of the energy industry remains high for each region not only because of high levels of FDI in the sector but also because there is no other sufficiently developed industry which can equally attract the investment for the future economic development of a region.

Introduction

The economic foundation of the present Russian state without any doubt was built on oil and gas resources. After the sound crash of the Soviet Union in August 1991, the market economy forces overtook the socialist economic structure. Privatisation of the large share of the oil and gas industries altered the role of energy in the national economy. However, the events in the roaring 90s of the new Russian states have not conserved the role of the energy sector. Despite the increase of the privatised share of the industry, since 2001 the energy sector acquired a much bigger role.

These assets allow the country to emerge from the ashes of the economic and political collapse of its predecessor. Privatisation program under the guidance of the IMF, failure of the production sector and ‘widespread industrial insolvency’ were all accompanied by the crash in government taxation (Benedictow et al. 2013, p. 401). The appalling conditions were passed on to a new state which had to find means for its survival.

The oil reserves and booming oil prices allowed for stabilising the conditions of the new Russian state in the early 2000x. ‘Today, the fuel and energy complex, and especially OGC, plays a huge role in the socio-economic development of the country and the increase in GDP…’ (Filimonova et al. 2019, p. 42). Russia has become the third world’s largest oil-producing and exporting country, giving substantial leverage in the international arena.

The economy is heavily reliant on natural resource extraction and exportation. Cufari and D’orio (2003) called the abundance of natural resources as ‘government’s important strategic “asset”’ (p. 10). Russia is a global energy state. Apart from its vast territorial advantage, the Russian Federation secures the largest share of global gas reserves. The country is in eighth place on the world’s share of oil reservices, according to the World Bank Report 2019 (Sanghi et al 2019). This abundance of resources shapes the core of the Russian economy to the present day.

The abundance of natural resources entails potential negative consequences. With the high demand for the production of oil and gas, the Russian economy has become reliant on natural resources. Oil and gas production and export make up 30% of the national GDP. The energy sector is vulnerable to outside factors such as global oil prices and economic sanctions which appear to be more frequent. Being an international player also entails those international initiatives and regulations that influence the economy of the Russian state. For example, ‘Russia has eaten into OPEC market shares following OPEC cutbacks’ (Benedictow et al. 2013, p. 402). The evident oil dependence which has emerged opens prospects for long-term negative effects as natural resources tend to run out.

Despite the clear signs of the long-term effects associated with reliance on energy production, it seems that the Russian political authorities remain highly focused on uplifting the energy sector. With much emphasis which is put on the oil sector, there is no positive spillover effect on other industries. This in turn means that the only destination available for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is the oil sector. A large proportion of FDI is directed into the oil and gas industry, which creates overconcentration which in the long run can reduce the attractiveness of the country to the FDI inflows. FDI inflows are important for a country’s development and growth. However, with a narrow approach to the facilitation of better conditions for balanced economic development, there are lesser chances that the country can offer alternative prospects for FDI.

This paper pays close attention to the strategic documents produced between 2014 and 2019 which outline the trajectory of the state in the management of the energy sector. This paper pays close attention to the Energy Strategy of Russia for the period until 2035 which was adopted in 2016. The strategy does not exclusively present the grant national objectives but also stimulates the development of the regional objectives in the management of the energy industry. Moreover, the document allows us to note the important change in the role of the energy sector after sanctions in 2014 and the designed course of action before the spread of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Paying close attention to the energy strategies, this paper also points to the similarities and differences between regional energy strategies and overall national energy perspectives.

Objectives:

The aim of the research is first to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the specifics of the energy sector in Russia. For this research, the emphasis on energy resources is directed toward the oil and gas industry. Two of the most vital natural resources have a long history of being a topic of antagonistic debates for the overall national security priority. Although energy is a complex realm of various natural sources including gas, oil, coal and many other natural products, the oil and gas sector for the Russian state presents one of the highest importance to the economy. However, this paper also acknowledges the importance of extraction, production and export of other energy-related natural resources such as coal.

The conceptual information gathered from the academic literature guides us through key obstacles that arise in the sector. Looking at the problems of the overconcentration of the oil industry and the impacts of unstable oil prices on the overall economic performance, most of the research thus focuses on the macroeconomic initiative that the Russian state should take to avoid the consequences of the Dutch Disease. However, there is little attention paid to the role of regional energy initiatives and regulations. Regional economies tend to be overlooked in the overall context of the Russian economy. However, in the work of Hanson (2019), it is mentioned about noticeable levels of the economic performance of regions, mostly highlighting Moscow and the Moscow region, and St Petersburg and the Leningrad region but the focus does not spread out to the rest of the country. With little to no attention to the major oil and gas regions and their unique economic management, the majority of past works lack a comprehensive understanding of how the energy sector remains without any doubt exclusive priority. This paper thus discussed the oil sector in relation to regional economic structures and regional energy regulations.

The main objective of this research paper is to closely analyse the energy industry in Russia and how the energy policy is designed. The energy policy directs the future of the oil sector and more important the overall economic impacts. Analysis of the key policies which are produced between 2014 — and 2019 will help to understand whether there are aspirations to maintain a strong reliance on natural resources in the nearest future. Moreover, the focus of this paper is not limited to the analysis of policies, decrees or annual reports produced in relation to the energy sector. This paper also takes inspiration and a high volume of information from the National Energy Strategy until 2030.

Determining how reliant each region is on the energy sector, this paper aims to establish whether the regional energy policy thus mimics the grand national policy. In addition, by establishing the level of economic dependence on the energy sector in the region of Tatarstan and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, this research looks at the potential of each region to diversify its regional economy.

The national energy strategy and policies produced for a period until 2030 are the foundation of regional energy initiatives which are the key focus of this research. Therefore, it is no surprise there some overlaps in the objective might take place. However, looking at regional energy initiatives and how they are reflected by the key oil-producing companies are also important observation factors in this research.

Determining whether the national or, more importantly, regional policies in the oil sector aim to increase the level of production and continuously support the already concentrated sector, the paper then takes into consideration the statistic on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in the two chosen regions. The level of the FDI inflows, in this paper, plays as an indicator of the effects of the regional energy policies and whether oil and gas production remains the focal point of each regional economy. Therefore, the assumption that guides this paper states that with increasing facilitation of oil production and provision of supporting conditions for oil companies, if such is discovered, the level of FDI in the Republic of Tatarstan and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (the KMAO- Ugra) will continue to be directed in the oil sector, obscuring the non-energy sectors.

Conceptual Framework

For the purpose of this paper, it is the oil and gas industry that is analysed. The oil sector plays a predominant role in the Russian economy ‘as the source of over half of exports and most of their foreign currency reserves and is the focus of a significant percentage of FDI inflows’ (Domínguez-Jiménez and Poitiers 2020, p. 149). Since the late 1990x and early 2000x after facing the crush of a highly hierarchical and ideological system, the oil sector allowed the new Russian government to extract the means of re-inventing the national economy. The rediscovery of the oil resources ‘…made it possible for the country to bridge its federal deficit, cover the external liabilities, increase gold and foreign exchange reserves, create a system of specialised find, and pursue a stable social policy by means of household income indexation’ (Filimonova et al 2019, p. 45). The oil industry of the Russian state allowed the state to manage its position after the crash and build an analogy to the Western economies. Therefore, the oil and gas industry turns out to be the focus of this paper.

National energy strategy is a key resource of guidelines and outlines for the actions of the whole energy sector. However, regional energy policies that are put in place vary from region to region. Therefore, to fit into the limits of this research paper and present a thorough analysis of the energy sector, there are two regions selected for this paper. Firstly, this paper aims to look at the energy sector in the region of Tatarstan. The Republic of Tatarstan is the part of Volga Federal District. Its economic and geographical position concerning the important raw materials bases of the Urals and Siberia makes the region attractive to FDI inflows (Kvon 2017, p. 838). Most importantly, the region is one of the oil-producing parts of Russia. The region has become over the years one of the most economically diversified parts of Russia. This in turn attracts the attention of this research to understand to what extent the national energy policy and national priorities shape the regional policy of the region. How the regional government builds its regional energy priority, or the priorities are strictly outlined by the core of the Russian state.

In addition, over recent years, the Republic of Tatarstan has been a leading region for attracting foreign direct investment. As this paper later shows, the levels of foreign direct investment present insightful information on whether regions are able to diversify their regional economies by shifting the focus from natural resources or, in fact, remain hostages of resource abundance. This is also an important factor for the research analysis of this paper as one of the key aims of the paper is to establish the relationship between regional energy policies and the levels of FDI.

As it is mentioned previously, in order to present a representative analysis of the oil sector in Russia, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug is chosen for the analysis of the regional energy policies. The Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (the KMAO- Ugra) is part of Western Siberia where the largest share of natural resources is located, and the majority of production sights is concentrated. The KMAO- Ugra as outlined in the work of Islamutdinov and Kushnikov (2020) ‘…is a vivid example of such a northern resource-producing region’ (p. 382). The economic perspective of this region is a contrasting sight in comparison to the Tatarstan region. Although the energy sector is equally significant for their regional economic structure, ‘…the economy of the northern resource-extracting region is subject to the effect of path dependence and in the long run, the fuel and energy sectors will continue to be crucial for the economy of the KMAO-Ugra’ (ibid 2020, p. 383). Thus, by analysing two regions with different levels of extraction of natural resources and production of petroleum products, the research is more likely to present a representative analysis of whether regions remain unconditionally reliant on the energy sector and continue to construct their regional energy policies and following implementations in accordance with the national energy priorities.

Speaking of oil production, this research paper aims to analyse not only regional energy policies established by each region, but it is also important to look at the developments that are forced under the energy policies. The most accurate reflection of how these developments take place, this paper argues, is reflected in the measurements which are gradually adopted by the key oil-producing companies of those regions. Therefore, among one the important resources this paper uses for the analysis are annual reports that have been issued by major oil and gas-producing companies located in the region of Tatarstan and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug.

Tatneft PJSC is a leading regional company in the Republic of Tatarstan, ranked 5th largest oil and gas company in Russia. Surgutneftgas, on the other hand, is one of the largest oil and gas production company that is based in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. However, it’s important to note that the region of West Siberia is not limited to the activities of a single company. Therefore, this paper also acknowledges and takes into consideration important activities of the major oil and gas company s of the Russian state: PJSC Gazprom. PJSC Gazprom is a state-own energy company that operates across all Russian regions. The level of reserves of Gazprom is 12% of the global gas output, extracting around 497.6 billion cubic metres of gas with 40.0 million tons of oil (www.gazprom.com/production 2020). Meanwhile, Surgutneftgas accounts for 10.7% of the share in the Russian oil production industry which outnumbers the 7.1% of oil production figures of PJSC Tatneft in 2020 (Surgutneftgas Annual Report 2020, p. 15). These companies are the reflection of oil activities that take place in the regions. Therefore, it is important to look at the development which is influenced by the regional policies and reflected in the level of production in these companies.

It is also important to choose the time frame for this analysis. This research paper aims to analyse the key development which took place between 2014 and 2019 concerning the energy sector in Russia.

The Russian oil sector has experienced several downturns. The most significant changes which started to take place began in 2014 after the decision of annexation of Crimean Peninsula. Western sanctions which targeted not exclusively targeted the individual figures and in particularly hit on the strategic national sectors including the energy sector. Russian state being ‘the second-largest global producer of oil, being the USA, producing 560 mtoe, or 12.7% of global production, and the second biggest exporter of oil behind Saudi Arabia, exporting 260 mtoe of oil’ had to modify and rearrange the actives of its sector of national priority in the lights of western sanctions (Godzimirski 2020, p. 384).

Following international sanctions and pressuring effects of the oil prices, ‘the rouble lost over half of its value against the dollar’ (Domínguez-Jiménez and Poitiers 2020, p. 145). The struggle that overwhelmed the country and the following initiatives which were taken at the time consequently impacted the oil industry. Noticing how the Russian government was introducing new economic policies for stabilisation of the national economy as a counter-action to the effects of the Western sanctions, this paper thus closely observes how the oil industry was changing and more importantly how regions of Tatarstan and the KMAO-Ugra were affected by western sanctions in particular.

Tracing the new developments and the decisions which were made after the proxy conflict with Ukraine in 2014, the research breaks at the end of 2019. This is because the following year is characterised by global economic hardship, associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Late 2019 and early 2020 marked a beginning of a new time in global energy prices and the global economy. Russia was not isolated from these global events. There is no double that the pandemic would leave a significant impact on the oil industry in Russia and possibly impact the trajectory of the regional energy initiatives. The falling energy market and stagnation cycle might have brought back to the attention of the Russian leading policymakers a long-lasting problem of natural resources dependence. At the same time, as this research presents in its analysis, the Russian state, despite hand evidence on the global call for ‘…policy transition to a more sustainable energy system…’, Russian state rather seems to take an ‘ostrich approach’ (Godzimirski 2020, p. 387).

The chosen time frame from 2014 up until the beginning of the global pandemic at the end of 2019, as this paper shows, allows us to understand the decision-making of the Russian government in relation to the internal energy sector in the light of exclusively focused sanctions. At the same time, the global events of the spread of the Covid-19 virus present how the Russian energy sector is interdependent on the rest of the international players and global energy prices. These events allow us to understand the present and future perspectives of oil and gas industries within the Russian state but also to notice whether the regional governments blindly follow the core order or rather might show an alternative approach to energy management.

Research Limitations

Analysis of the national energy policy is not the exclusive factor that drives each region’s economic development. The energy sector is one of the pieces in the economic puzzle which influences the development of each region. The level of regional attractiveness to foreign direct investment is not exclusive to the development of the oil sector of that or the other region but also depends on other factors such as legislative structure, human resources, government structure and many other factors. Thus, this research struggles to establish a strong correlation between a single factor which this paper overlooks.

The other limitation that this paper encounters during its course is that the national and regional energy policies are hard to be clearly divided. As it is stated earlier in this paper, the objective of this paper is to establish the relationship between the national and regional energy policy in relation to the regional economy. Since the Russian national economy is a composition of various regional economic activities, it is hard to differentiate what becomes a national priority or a regional objective. The research material used in this paper, including the national energy doctrines and strategy papers along with the official papers from the key oil-producing companies of the regions, presents a mixture of regional and national priorities. Therefore, it is hard to establish from which side the objective is derived.

As later presented, this work looks at a variety of factors which closely relate to the Russian energy sector. The paper is not limited to looking at exclusively the national government decrees and strategic papers which outline the trajectory of national priorities and responses to external events but is also interested to look at how regional government might or might not be resistant to the decisions of the Russian core. The paper is thus limited to establishing a clear understanding of whether each decision was either made by a regional government or later adopted or refused by the major energy-producing company. This latest presents a struggle to show any correlation between the influence of the national energy policy and regional energy policies or to find a presence of such clear influence.

Although this theme is important, looking at the literature that is available on the topic of the oil industry in Russia, there is little written on how regions singly impact the oil industry in Russia. It is clear that the country establishes a national energy policy that directs toward the sets goals. However, due to the specifics of the Russian Federation, each region designs its policies also following its regional specifics. Moreover, the relationships between the centre and its peripheries seem to also have an impact on the effective coordination and continuation of national policies. For example, the region of Tatarstan is one of the few parts of Russia where the head of the regional government continues to hold a title of a ‘president’ and which had been ‘among 46 Russian regions that negotiated a degree of self-rule’ (Smirnova 2017, www.themoscowtimes.com). The call in for independence in the 1990x of the decision-making and autonomy of the economy grants a special (Hanauer1996, p. 71). On the other hand, the government of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug has never yell such a strong desire for autonomy or acquisition of a special title in comparison to the Tatarstan. Therefore, economic management and unconditional support for energy strategies from the core might also be associated with the relationships between the centre and its peripheries but this paper does not devote as much space to understand such relationships.

The paper acknowledged that there is little said about whether regions are interested in continuing to facilitate preferable conditions for the oil industry and whether continuous support for the oil sector deters the FDI inflow in those regions. The works of Mitrova and Yermakov (2019) and Mahmood and Alkhateeb (2018), for example, focus on the internal trends of transformation of the energy sector and whether the state intensifies its role in the management of the natural resources and plans of Russian policymakers. At the same time, the authors do look at the trends of foreign investment to identify any diversity in the trends or, in turn, to find the overconcentration in the energy sector as well as increasing securitisation of the energy sector because of sanctions and global energy market changes. Therefore, this paper also encounters a problem to present any clear evidence of whether it is possible to link the overconcentration in the energy sector necessary to deter foreign direct investment in the regions.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

The energy sector of the Russian Federation is a peculiar topic for research. A vast number of materials focus on the oil industry and its effects on the economic side of the country.

However, since this paper aims to scrutinise the relationship between regional energy policies and foreign direct investment levels in the Republic of Tatarstan and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, the literature listed below presents key debates around the research question. There is no such aim to eliminate some of the research methods or to clash the arguments. Instead, the variety of questions raised in these works enables us to focus on the central question which dominates the research around the oil industry in Russia as well as to carefully design the pathway of this research paper. The findings which were previously established help in guiding through empirical data and spotting changes that occur through time in the oil sector in Russia. Looking at the key discussion that arises around the oil sector, the paper picks up the theme of the resource curse and oil dependence which signal the potential pathways of this research paper. Since the paper tries to look at the relationship between regional energy policies and FDI level, the patterns of the FDI in the oil industry and obstacles that arise are also discussed.

Most of the research work over the past couple of years tends to focus on the role of the oil sector in the national economy as well as its overall impact on international economic patterns. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the following neo-classical economic shock therapy, the oil industry turned out to be a focal point for national economic development. Abandoning the socialist principles of nationalised industry, oil companies were ending up in private hands to inhabit a new market arena and compete with the outside world. The role of the oil sector in the Russian state is closely observed and discussed in most of the research work. It is not only the share of national GDP and the size of the energy sector that becomes important in most academic discussions but also the consequences which are hidden under the industry.

The debate that fuels the energy topic in Russia is highly concentrated on the prospects of the Russian economy and its excessive reliance on oil production. The focus of academic works tends to concentrate on the phenomenon of the resource curse, trying to depict the key determining factors in the economy of the country which reflect the evidence for the resource curse hypothesis.

The abundance of natural resources might at first appear as an economic blessing for a country that possesses them. However, the evidence which was gathered by academics presents the opposite finding to such a claim. The resource curse hypothesis which is most often applied as a foundation for most research focuses on the growth patterns of a country. The work of Sachs and Warner (1995) left an important footprint in the study of resource abundance and the negative economic side of the sector. The cross-country growth records which were applied in their work allowed us to establish a negative pattern of relationship between economic growth and the reliance on natural resources. Moreover, countries that were considered non-resource abundant tend to outperform in their long-term growth pattern by diversifying national production and developing other sectors. However, it is important to note that many factors impact the overall economic growth of a country. Aside from global oil prices, it is important to take into account fiscal policies designed by each country and resource management policies that are put in place. Sachs and Warner (1995) showed that didn’t deny the positive side of resource abundance as ‘it might be expected to raise an economy’s investment and growth rates as well’ (p. 3).

The hypothesis of the resource curse is transformed in much academic literature which focuses on the oil dependence in Russia. For example, in the work of Perifanis and Dagoumas (2017), attempts were made to analyse the continuous dependence of the economy on oil revenues by applying the econometric model. The model focuses on the macroeconomic factors including GDP real index and Government expenditure. The results which were established with the use of the econometric model revealed the ‘heavy focus of oil price’ (Perifanis and Dagoumas 2017, p. 10) and the levels of production for the prospects of the economy. Overconcentration in a single sector and lack of diversity in other production sectors potentially signal the long downturn of the economy overall.

Oil industry concentration and clear government prioritisation were the subjects of other academic works. Sabitova and Shavaleyeva (2015) draw a similar conclusion that ‘the public sector of the Russian Federation is too exposed to the dependency of the national economy on oil and gas’ (p. 427). The growth rates of GDP which correlated with rising prices of oil in the early 2000x did not continue to match the growth patterns after the global financial crisis and revival of the oil prices. Despite such a pattern, the Russian Federal budget which was split into two, the Reserve Fund and the National Welfare Fund, ‘fall to the share of oil and gas revenues over 50%’ (ibid., p. 425). As pointed out by Sabitova and Shavaleyeva (2015) the budget system ‘is contingent on oil and gas revenues’ (p. 425). Feeding the federal budget through oil and gas revenues signals significant risks for the budget and the entire economy (p. 426). The shortfalls in oil revenues and consequential fall in the level of oil taxation would negatively impact the overall economic performance of the country due to continued reliance on oil and gas corporations which made up the largest share of national GDP as well as the largest percentage of taxes which support the Federal budget.

Benedictow et al. (2013) follow a similar pathway for discussing the phenomenon of oil dependence. In support of Perifanis and Dagoumas (2017), the econometric model of the Russian economy was designed to analyse the effects of changes in the oil price and alternative fiscal policies which influence the economy (Benedictow et al. p. 400). However, unlike Perifanis and Dagoumas (2017), it is the multiregional general equilibrium model was used to understand the impacts of energy policy instruments on the Russian economy (ibid, p. 400). It was established that ‘…increasing oil prices lead to higher growth in government revenues than in government expenditures, introducing a stabilizing element to the economy, as well as means to be channelled into the sovereign wealth fund’ (ibid., p. 401).

However, the interesting observation which was made in the previous research works as well as by Benedictow et al. (2013) is the effects of the rising prices of oil. The higher price of oil signals a leap in inflation and a nominal appreciation of the national currency, the rouble. Appreciation of the rouble and higher interest rates create a ‘double blow’ (p. 401) to non-oil exporting industries because of rising oil prices. This is because non-oil production becomes less competitive in the international market and less attractive to foreign sources, creating overconcentration in the natural resource sector. In addition, ‘rising oil prices can therefore be expected to entail the usual negative effects on domestic consumption, non-oil output and more…’ (Benedictow et al. 2013, p. 402).

In line with the discussion about the resource curse, another approach to the study of the oil sector in Russia has been tailing in academia. Heavy economic dependence on a highly concentrated sector signals rising risks of the Dutch Disease. The model overlooks the relationship between the extensive development of a certain sector, in this case, oil, and underperformance in other sectors. The model states that ‘the greater the natural resource endowment, the higher the demand for non-tradable goods, and consequently, the smaller will be the allocation of labour and capital to the manufacturing sector’ (Sachs and Warner 1995, p. 7).

Some scholars suggest that there are clear signs of the Dutch Disease found in the Russian economy. Tabata (2013) suggested that with the rise in oil prices, the demand for domestically manufactured products also increases at the same time giving a competitive advantage against imports. At the same time, the signs of the Dutch Disease are depicted according to the fluctuations in the exchange rate. The signs of the Dutch Disease have been depicted in some of the scholars’ work such as Sabitova and Shavaleyeva (2015), Locatelli (2006) and Hanson (2009), but there are others such as Perifanis and Dagoumas (2017) who claim the opposite.

Looking at the key approaches and discussions that are related to the oil sector in Russia, this paper has examined the debates concerning foreign direct investment in the oil sector. As was shown previously, the oil sector is an important part of the national economy. Despite the long-term downturns which are associated with natural resource dependence, a lot of attention is paid to the investment side of the energy sector. Although the production and export of natural resources are highly important for the economic stability of the Russian economy, the oil industry is also a key destination for FDI. Therefore, ‘Russia’s dependency on oil had made direct investment highly vulnerable to changes in the oil price’ (Domínguez-Jiménez and Poitiers 2020, p. 144). A large share of FDI is targeted toward the energy sector due to its higher profitability and lack of alternatives in other industries that could yield some profits.

Domínguez-Jiménez and Poitiers (2020) presented research on the effects of EU FDI inflows in Russia. ‘Key drivers of Russian FDI flows are the price of oil and natural resource markets, macroeconomic volatility, monetary policy, sanctions, and trade impediments’ (ibid., p. 144). The global price volatility of oil and the years of economic sanctions that impacted the monetary stability of Russia in addition to institutional challenges turned out to be key obstacles that deter the FDI in Russia. Overconcentration of the oil industry results in a limited ‘spill-over effect in other industries, deterring the balanced development of the economy. What is also important and what was highlighted by Domínguez-Jiménez and Poitiers (2020) is that there is also the geographical division of FDI meaning that there is unequal development among the regions, meaning that there is little choice available to foreign companies in investing their profit. Poelhekke and van der Ploeg (2013) present that FDI into natural resources can cause ‘a crowding­ –’ effect that can greatly reduce FDI into other industries (cited from Domínguez-Jiménez and Poitiers 2020, p. 146).

Cufari and D’orio (2003), on the other hand, point out that ‘macroeconomic stabilization and structural reforms are necessary for growth’ (p. 1). Noticeable lack of structural reforms in regulation, property protection and trust also influences the levels of FDI. ‘…Russia is likely to lose at least $7 billion in foreign direct investment annually because of opacity. Opacity is affected by the level of corruption, the legal system, macroeconomic and fiscal policies, accounting, and the regulatory regime’ (ibid., p. 10). Speaking of macroeconomic factors, the taxation system as presented by Filimonova et al. (2019) relies heavily on the oil industry as ‘the tax burden on the Russian oil industry in 2017 was 38%’ (p. 46). The taxation system which places a larger share of the burden also becomes a deterring factor for the FDI inflows.

The factors which were outlined by various academic works suggest there is a clear restructuring of the current system. The system is dependent on the energy sector for future growth and economic stability. At the same time, despite the clear evidence of the need for change, there is an increase in concentration and empowerment of the energy sector. The regional energy policies as shown in the works of Semykina (2017 and 2015) and Kvon (2017) are also important factors that have to be considered in the oil sector in Russia and FDI inflows. The growth factors are dependent on the successful implementation and design of the energy policies, accounting for regional specifics as well as a national strategy.

Chapter 3: The Introduction to Regions

The Tatarstan Region: the role of the energy sector in the development of the region’s economic foundation

The discovery of natural resources allows for building a foundation for economic activity and further development for a country overall or for a region like the Republic of Tatarstan. The region of Tatarstan is located in the Eastern European part of the Russian Federation and belongs to the part of the Volga Federal District. The geographical location of the republic allows to establish great access to significant parts of Russia and a close location to the European countries.

The Tatarstan region remains at the top of the leading developing regions within the Russian Federation. Tatarstan is considered to be one of the attractive parts of Russia for foreign investors (Makaryčev 2002, p. 39). The infrastructure and a local legal base for foreign economic activities have also become a stimulant for a variety of incentives for foreign companies which decide to direct the financial incentives in the region (ibid 2002, p. 40). The prosperity of the Tatarstan economy as it should be pointed out here was brought by the discovery of the oil resources and intensified unitarization of the natural resources.

The calls for the autonomy of the region after the fall of the Soviet Union and the arrival of the new Russian government, the oil sights based in the Neftekamsk, Nizhnekamsk and Almetievsk were of strategic importance for the region to establish its economic autonomy in the economic planning. In 1989, ‘the autonomous republic produced $ 250 million worth of oil, for which it received virtually nothing from Moscow’ (Hanauer 1996, p. 73). The talks which continued throughout the 90x between Moscow and Kazan aimed to establish solid grounds on the management of the oil resources which in turn would allow the republic to build its economic foundation and strengthen its presence as a potential individual player in the international area for liaising with the newly opened western world. ‘The treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan o delamination of jurisdiction subjects and mutual delegation of authority between the state bodies of the Russian Federation and the State Bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan’ was introduced and signed in 1994 (cited in Hanauer 1996, p. 75). Ratifying the treaty gave a foundation for the region to impose its own taxation levels and control the republic’s budget and most importantly ‘…to independently conduct foreign economy activity’ (ibid 1996, p. 75).

The bargain between Tatarstan and the core of the Russian state lasted until early 2000x. The energy sector allowed to expand the regional economy. Despite the fact that the Tatarstan economy is founded on oil extraction, energy products and export, the region is not limited to the energy sector. Production of machinery, the agricultural segment of the economy, manufacturing along with the growing potential of the new technological development all show how the regional economy tries to take a new approach to the establishment of its economic foundation by diversifying its economics. The Strategy of social and economic development of the Republic of Tatarstan which was approved on 15 June 2015 under the law of the Republic of Tatarstan N0.40-LRT (https://invest.tatarstan.ru/advantages/strategy-2030/) outlined the new incentives of how the region tried to implement new mechanisms for transition to more innovative economy (Lyubovа & Misbakhova 2018, p. 45). Despite the calls for diversification which the strategy introduced, the government of Tatarstan does not eliminate the importance of the energy sector for further expansion and sustainable growth of the regional economy. The oil sector remains at the core of the strategy. With the support of the major oil-producing companies of the region, more importantly, PJSC Tatneft, the initiatives to diversify the economy and implement new mechanisms of sustainable development and further growth come as a result of continuous oil extraction.

As we can see despite the comparatively low production of energy products, Tatarstan shows a higher attractiveness for foreign investment. To some extent the presence of the energy industry allows to develop of the economic ground. Furthermore, the financial support from the oil industry and continues production of products allows the Tatarstan government to spread the financial support in other sectors. As a consequence, it diversifies the economy.

Tatneft is one of the largest vertically integrated oil-producing companies in the state which accounts for annual oil production of 5% of the total levels. The energy sector is not exclusively associated with government bodies and national or regional institutions. In fact, the energy sector is rather directly affiliated with the managing companies or better known as the private sector. PJSC Tatneft can be called one of the major private-sector players. Just like any other major energy company in Russia such as Gazprom or Rosneft, Tatneft plays in tandem with the core of the Russian government, but more importantly with the regional government.

The energy complex which was built and developed in the early 1990x remains at the core of Tatarstan. According to the national statistics, continuous production and vertical development of oil sights constituted at least 45% of the regional GDP. Despite the aspiration and noticeable steps taken by the Tatarstan government to expand its economic potential and possibly decrease the strong influence of oil production on the regional economy, the oil industry remains at the core of the region.

The Khanty Mansi Autonomous Okrug: How do energy resources construct the region’s economy?

The Khanty Mansi Autonomous Okrug presents an interesting insight into the relationship of the energy sector to regional economic development. The region is located in the Western part of Siberia. This region due to its natural resource abundance is one of the strategically important regions in providing energy security to the Russian state. According to the national statistics of the Russian Federation, the region is ranked first in providing oil resources for the oil extraction industry and following the distribution of the resources to the oils-dependent industries(http://council.gov.ru/en/structure/regions/KHM/).

The region is the key oil and gas region of the Russian Federation. The Khanty Mansi Autonomous Okrug present the highest share of foreign direct investment in the oil industry according to the national statistics.

The energy sector, especially the oil production industry plays a crucial role in the economic foundation of the region. According to Bogomolova et al. 2015, ‘it is the donor region that takes a lead in several economic performances all concentrated in the oil industry’ (p. 222). The largest share of resources comes from the production, extraction, and export of oil resources. The oil industry of the industry overhighly concentrated. The share of the Khanty-Mansi Okrug in all production volumes of oil in 2014 was 48% (Bogomolova et al. 2015, p. 222). At the same time, the regional share of national energy production output was 5% the same year (et al., p. 222).

Like any other resource-concentrated part of Russia, its economic foundation is highly dependent on the continuous extraction and export of oil and gas resources. The regional economic development of the Khanty Mansi Okrug does not present a sufficient mechanism of economic diversification. The current mechanism of the region’s economy shows a strong dependence on the local market structure and ‘the demand existing within the region’s territory’ (et al., 223). The mechanism of economic diversification, unlike the region of Tatarstan, does not present an effective way to channel the investment resources which come from the oil industry in order to diversify the local economy.

This problem has been encountered by Bogomolova et al. 2015 as it states that

‘…the northern regions of have their own specific peculiarities associated with an extensive use of hydrocarbon resources, severe climate, personnel shortage…all this increases investment risks and serves as a deterrent for the development of the investment attractiveness’ (p.224).

The economic base of the region is highly determined by global energy prices and outside factors. At the same time, it is important to note that the region is one of the key drivers of the overall national economy due to its regional resource importance. Due to its large share of the total energy resources, major oil extraction companies such as Surgutneft and Gazpromneft place their production complexes in the region. With large companies like Surgutneft and especially the Gazpromneft which is the second largest national oil-producing company, the regional economic development is highly dependent on the continuation of the overall energy-reliant policy. The continuous dependence on the energy resources of the Russian state allows it to sustain the occurring external challenges in the form of sanctions and falls in oil prices.

However, unlike the government of Tatarstan which aims to introduce new economic projects under the Strategy 2030 to potentially diversify the economy for further attractiveness of foreign direct investment, the KMAO-Ugra government lacks any incentives to diversify its economy. As a result, despite accounting for the largest share and concentration of natural resources in the counting, the region does not allow its economy to sustain itself. In fact, with a continuation of the emphasis on oil and gas production and export. Islamutdinov and Kushnikov (2020) restate the fact that ‘…the dominant role of the fuel and energy complex sectors in the economy of the KMAO-Ugra will remain in the long run’ (p. 388).

Chapter 4: The role of energy industry in future development of regions

From the core to its peripheries: the role the National Energy Policies in constructing the regional energy foundation

Looking at the Energy Strategy which was produced in 2015 once and comparing it to the energy initiatives which were established by the Tatarstan government a year after, the regional government tend to mimic the objectives that are outlined by the federal government. According to the Energy strategy of the Russian Federation until 2035, ‘the policy seeks to develop a higher share of alternative energy resources' (The Ministry of Energy 2016). On the other hand, in 2018 the President of Tatarstan, Rustem Minnikhanov, emphasised during the Tatarstan Government meeting that ‘the region began a comprehensive development of alternative sources’ (Tatarstan President’s Press Office 2018).

As this paper states earlier, there are various decrees, official papers and reports which have been produced during the period from 2014 up until 2019. The paper has overlooked one of the important pieces which was introduced in 2015 by the Energy Ministry of the Russian Federation — the National Energy Strategy until 2035.

The strategy was introduced a year after the annexation of Crimea and the uprising conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The strategy as was pointed out by Alekseev et al. (2019) is ‘…one of the key strategic documents on Russia’s energy policies both domestically and internationally…’ (p. 95) This document outlines a key vision of the Russian state on the development of the Russian energy and fuel complex in the light of newly arising challenges.

What is also important to add to the analysis of the national energy strategy is that this is a revised version of the national energy strategy which was adopted in 2009 by the Russian government. To notice the overlaps between the two works are unavoidable as the energy sector remains a key priority not only for economic reasons but also for security purposes.

Just like in the earlier version, the national energy strategy ‘remains the best available indication of Russian energy policymakers’ plans…’ (Mitronova and Yermakov 2019, pp.9–11). The plans for the energy production sector align with the interest of the core of the Russian government — to ‘ensure the most advances, efficient, and safe development of the energy and fuel complex in Russia’ (Alekseev et al. 2019, p. 96). Implementing sustainable methods of production and export of natural resources and more importantly, sustaining the domestic market despite the fluctuations and external impacts of the 2014 sanctions, the Russian government clearly places its priority on ‘…maintaining social stability by reining in domestic energy prices’ which in turn appear to be a critical value for the stability of the regime (Mitronova and Yermakov 2019, pp.10–12).

The national energy strategy until 2035 is a complex package which oversees not only the energy sector aims and priorities but also presents impacts of the security and socio-economic developments. The studies which this paper discussed earlier in the literature review section have introduced a phenomenon of the Dutch Disease and several analogies. The core concept that each of such theories carries is the overall interdependence of all economic and social segments in relation to one key economic sector. in this case the dependence on natural resources. The two individual examples of the Tatarstan region and the KMAO-Ugra presented evidence of the regional economic dependence of the energy sector. Despite the fact that the Tatarstan region was able to introduce a number of initiatives and potentially aim for further economic diversification, the core for continuous sustainability of the economy remains in the oil development and extraction.

At the same time, the data which was found in the KMAO — Ugra regional reports for 2018 has not detected a large variety of economic initiatives in comparison to the Tatarstan region. In fact, according to the annual 2018 report of the Surgutneftgas, it is clear that the methods of vertical expansion of the key oil company remain a priority. Thus, this shows that the region rather shows that the energy sector remains the core of the regional economic integrity.

The socio-economic sphere as it was stated earlier is also connected to the energy sector of the Russian state. The influence of the national energy policy on the decision-making in relation to the energy sector within each region is noticeable in the socio-economic initiatives. Alongside a revised version of the energy strategy, the republic of Tatarstan, for example, has introduced a package of the new socio-economic initiative in 2015 which aim to diversify the economy of the region expanding the potential for foreign investment initiatives. However, as has been pointed out earlier, despite the regional calls for the potential of self-management, the core of the Russian state remains the dominant decision-making. In the introduction of such an initiative, the oil sector of the region remains a key focus for sustaining all the plans. The PJSC Tatneft has become one of the key investing points for the further sustainability of the projects.

The influence of the national energy strategy and revised policies has also been reflected in the activities of the key oil companies of the regions. The strategy has called for the ‘in-depth development of existing conventional oil fields using oil production intensification methods’ (Mitronova and Yermakov 2019, pp.10–12). Following the annual report of the PJSC Tatneft 2017, the company initiated a ‘project to increase the rate of production to 8% for the Vereiskian deposits’ alongside ‘active involvement in the development of a large number of super-viscous oil (SVO) deposits and reaching a production level of up to 3 million tonnes’ (Tatneft Annual Report 2017, p. 32). The calls which have been made by the Russian policymakers have effectively found their reflection in a further adaptation by the energy companies. To make the comparison more valuable, the Surgutnestgas also stated in its 2018 annual report states the successful performance of ‘geological exploration in the KMAO-Ugra at 38 subsoil blocks with 48 wells were built; the prospecting and exploratory drilling success rate accounted for 95.8%’ (Surgutneftgas Annual 2017 Report, p. 28). The strategy might have only been set as a guideline for the players within the energy sector. However, as we have seen from the findings and the official reports, actions that have been taken by the major oil and gas companies of the two regions set identical priorities in accordance with the national energy priorities. It is no surprise to see the similarities in the national energy strategies as well as within the regional energy initiatives. Despite the potential of each region to develop outside of the national energy priorities even more economically diversified regions such as Tatarstan remain focused on the continuous exploitation of the natural resource industries.

The role of regions in shaping the National Energy Policy of the Russian Federation

According to Makarycev and Valuev (2002), the Tatarstan region was able to establish close strong relations with the core of the Russian state. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the sudden surge in the establishment of regional entities, Tatarstan has been one of the key challenging cases. The region of Tatarstan was one of the first regions to declare a state of sovereignty for the republic and did so in August 1990 (Makarycev and Valuev 2002, p. 15). The call for independence and the strong right in establishing a decision-making structure allowed the newly evolving government at the time to manage the economic base according to regional preferences.

With the establishment of a strong regional government and explicitly showing its right to design the economic base of the region, the Republic of Tatarstan did not separate completely from the Russian Federation but simply became one of the key parts of the new state. The new era which was marked with Vladimir Putin’s presidency in 2001 gradually reversed the position of the region.

On the other hand, the Khanty Mansi Autonomous Okrug present an alternative insight to stand to the core of the Russian state. After the fall of the Union, the regional government did not allocate as great attention to the surge for regional sovereignty or the reactive stand in the core of the national decision-making processes. In fact, this region is presented an alternative case of the events which were taking place in the Republic of Tatarstan.

Despite the difference in the regional structure and past development of each region, both of parts follow a similar trajectory in the overall national energy policy. The energy policy is not exclusively constructed by the central government. The central government of the Russian states is not isolated from its regional entities like the Republic of Tatarstan or the Khanty Mansi Autonomous Okrug. In fact, it is the regional unique characteristics, and the economic factors have influenced over the design. According to Ratner (2016), the national energy policy is shaped not only by the interest groups which have leverage powers over the policy. The development of the national energy policy is shaped under the conditions which are facilitated by the ‘regional government’ (Ratner 2016, p. 73). The regional governments, in this case the Tatarstan and the Khanty Mansi Autonomous Okrug, play a role as a ‘potential mediator between the federal government and individual companies’ which all present various interests in the energy sector (ibid., p. 73).

However, despite the highlighted role of regional governments in mediating the interests between individual companies such as Tatneft and Surgutnet and other large oil companies which predominantly explore the region of the Khanty Mansi Autonomous Okrug, for example, and the core federal government, the energy policy shows a predominance of the core of the Russian state.

Following the discussion, which was introduced earlier in this paper, the role of the regions in shaping the national energy policies has not been so evident. However, this does not suggest there has no relationship between the regional economic policies and the national energy strategy. In fact, each region with a highly developed energy orientation, especially the KMAO-Ugra have an impact on the design and further implementation of the national strategies. The impact of the regional decision has mainly been evident in the success of the implementation of the policies. Especially after the sanctions implemented as a result of the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, the Russian state focused on the development of regional projects which would allow it to shift the priorities from the export-orientated to the Western countries rather than explore the Asia markets. The core of the Russian state as we have seen in the reflection of the energy strategy until 2035 influences with greater power the decision-making of the regional oil companies but more importantly the regional energy policies themselves. Despite the potential each region remain does not seem to project a great leverage power again the national prospects in the energy sector.

Chapter 5: The learning curve: the adaptation of the energy sector to the sanction of 2014 and reaching of the global COVID-19 pandemic

The annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and strong response from the EU: first package of sanctions and their implication to the energy sector in Russia

The Russian state in May 2014 proclaimed the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula as a legal entity of the Russian Federation. The act of annexation has been part of the lasting proxy conflict with its neighbouring country of Ukraine. This strategic move has shown a great security threat to the global international members especially to the Western countries. As for the Russian state, as it was proclaimed in the media, Crimea has been a historical part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (TASS, accessed via https://tass.com/russia/1423871). With the so-called reunification, the Russian state was exposed to global criticisms and economic consequences.

The first package of sanctions was introduced shortly after the military invasion of the Russian troops on the peninsula which primarily targeted a small part of the Russian state, primarily the core decision-making individuals. However, the European states which drafted the package did not limit the sanction to the individual members.

The energy sector of the Russian state being its economic core and accounts of accordingly of 25–26% of the national GDP saw the impact of the sanctions of the first. The sanction regime as was shown later hit core investment activities, especially in the energy sector. As the paper has presented earlier, the core attractiveness of foreign direct investment into the Russian state remains concentrated within the oil production industry. With the expansion of foreign direct investment which has mainly been received from the European countries the Russian state and consequently the regions have noticed a drop in oil and gas production levels. According to the annual report by Surgutneft 2015, the level of oil extraction decreased to 4% in 2014 following the effects of the European sanctions.

The Russian oil and gas export market has been closely linked to the European sector. Initiatives of building the NordStream-2 with Germany and continuous acceleration in the volume of gas export to Europe had been significantly cut down as one of the parts of the European sanctions.

Following years, as it has been introduced earlier in this paper, the Russian government introduced a revised plan for the energy sector. Replacing the national energy strategy, which was drafted in 2009, the new strategy until 2035 was able on the events which have been taking place in relation to Russia. The protection of the internal energy market and the potential for exploring new markets became the priorities for the Russian state.

Noticing sharp declines throughout 2015–2016 due to the falling demands for Russian energy resources as a result of the sanctions, the regional production didn’t reflect such drastic change. According to Mitrova 2019 ‘while the burden of a swing producer was carried solemnly by Gazporom, Russia’s independents and oil companies managed to maintain or even increase their natural gas output despite the difficult market conditions’. (p. 25).

The sanctions which have been placed against Russia did reflect on the performance of the energy sector. At the same time, it is important to notice that the sanction has intensified the role of the core of the Russian state in the total management of the natural resources of the country. The regional government of Tatarstan and the KMAO-Urga did not present any resistance to the implementation of the new energy policies. This in fact presents that the influence of the core on the regional economies is greater and more noticeable. Despite the attempts which have been made by more economically diverse regions such as Tatarstan, it is clear from the evidence above that the energy sector of the Russian state remains a core strategic priority and core of the national interest. With the lack of leverage which any of the states might potentially expert, it is also evidently clear that the continuation of energy exploitation remains the core of the national priority.

Chapter 6: Conclusion

The paper has produced a clear analysis of the relationship between the national energy policy and the influence of the two regionals in shaping the policy. Despite the initial hypothesis, it has not been established that a more economically diversified region is able to influence the national energy policy or be able to do so.

The literature which has been introduced in this paper presented a variety of arguments in relation to the energy sector of the Russian state. More importantly, the paper has placed a great emphasis on the analysis of the oil and gas industries of Tatarstan and the KMAO-Urga region. The literature which has been chosen for this paper presented a core debate on the resource dependence of the Russian state.

By looking at the annual reports of the two major oil and gas producing companies, it has been established that the government of the core Russian state remain entirely focused on the preservation of the oil and gas output, potential expansion and production acceleration.

Having discussed the event of the 2014 Crimean annexation which was transformed and later intensified by the global events of the spread of Covid-19, the paper looks at the national energy strategy until 2035 as a key source of the analysis along with other regional reports and company’s performance reports.

As it has been established, the core of the Russian state remains the key decision-making in the energy sector. Despite the potential of some regions to effectively manage the energy sector and transform it, it has been established that even under such conditions, the oil and gas dependence remains without being potentially transformed. Thus, the paper has not been able to establish any successful relation between the core national energy policy and the regional economic policies. It has rather re-established the previous findings.

Bibliography:

Alexander, Alekseev, Bogoviz, Aleksei, Goncharenko, Ludmila and Sybachin, Sergey (2019) A Critical Review of Russia’s Energy Strategy in the Period until 2035, published by International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy

Anna, Makaryčev (2002) External relations of Tatarstan: neither inside, nor outside, but alongside Russia, published by Regionalization of Russian Foreign and Security Policy

Astakhova, Olesya (2020) Russia’s top oil province braces for 15% output cut, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-russia-siberia-idUSKBN22O1RX [Accessed on 05.05.2021]

Benedictow, Andreas, Fjærtoftб Daniel, and Løfsnæs, Ole (2013) Oil dependency of the Russian economy: An econometric analysis, published by Economic Modelling 32, pp. 400–428

Bogomolova, L., L., Araslanov, R. K., Shumeyko, A. B. and Buzmakov, A. V. (2015) Development of Investment Attractiveness of Oil and Gas Region in Terms of Economical Instability, published by Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(3), p. 221

Boute, Anatole (2013) Renewable Energy Federalism in Russia: Regions as New Actors for the Promotion of Clean Energy, published by Journal of Environmental Law, Vol. 25, №2 (2013), pp. 261–291

Carril-Caccia, F., Milgram-Baleix, J., & Paniagua, J. (2019) Foreign Direct Investment in oil-abundant countries: The role of institutions published by PloS one, 14(4), e0215650. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215650

Chidlow, Agnieszka, Salciuviene, Laura and Young, Stephen (2009) Regional determinants of inward FDI distribution in Poland, published by International Business Review 18, pp. 119–133

Cufar, Adelaide and D’orio, Giovanni (2003) Factors affecting the foreign direct investment in Russia, published by Corporate ownership & control October, Winter 2003 Vol.1 Iss.2 ISSN 1727–9232

Domínguez-Jiménez, Marta and Poitiers, Niclas (2020) An analysis of EU FDI inflow into Russia, published by Russian Journal of Economics 6, pp. 144–161

Filimonova, I. V, Provornaya, I. V., Shumilova, S. I., and Zemnukhova, E. A. (2019) Cluster analysis of Russian oil companies based on tax burden parameters, published by Journal of Tax Reform 5(1) pp. 42–56

Gidadhubli, R. (2003) Russia: Oil and Politics, published by Economic and Political Weekly

Girko, Sergey, Gubareva, Anna, Kovalenko, Kseniya and Stepkin, Stanislav (2018) The Attracting of Foreign Investment in the Russian Economic Development published by Journal of History Culture and Art Research 7(1):142

Godzimirski, Jakub (2020) Russian energy and grand strategy, published by Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

Grama, Yulia (2012) The Analysis of Russian Oil and Gas Reserves, published by International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Vol. 2, №2, 2012, pp.82–91, ISSN: 2146–4553, www.econjournals.com

Hanauer, Laurence (1996) Tatarstan’s bid for autonomy: Tatarstan as a model for the devolution of power in the Russian Federation, The Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, 12:1, 63–82, DOI: 10.1080/13523279608415301

Hanson, Philip (2009) The Resistible Rise of State Control in the Russian Oil Industry, published by Eurasian Geography and Economics, 50:1, pp. 14–27

Hanson, Philip (2019) Russian Economic Policy and the Russian Economic System Stability Versus Growth, published by Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House

InvestTatarstan (2015) Strategy 2030: Tatarstan has adopted the Strategy of Social and Economic Development of the Republic of Tatarstan till 2030, which has the force of the republican law, https://invest.tatarstan.ru/advantages/strategy-2030/ [Accessed on 04.10.2021]

Islamutdinov, Vadim and Kushnikov, Evgeniy (2020) Long-term Forecast of the Dependence of the Economy of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Ugra (Russia) on the Sectors of the Fuel and Energy Complex, published by International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 2020, 10(2), 382–389

Ivanenko, Vlad (2008) Energy Policy and Its Domestic and Foreign Implications, published by International Journal, Spring, 2008, Vol. 63, №2, Russian Resurgence (Spring, 2008), pp. 263–274

Ivanenko, Vlad (2008) Russian Energy Policy and Its Domestic and Foreign Implications, published by International Journal, Spring, 2008, Vol. 63, №2, Russian Resurgence (Spring, 2008), pp. 263–274

Jensen, J., Rutherford, T., and Tarr, D. (2004) The Impact of Liberalizing Barriers to Foreign Direct Investment in Services: The Case of Russian Accession to the World Trade Organization, published by Review of Development Economics, Volume 11, Issue 3, pp.482–596, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9361.2007.00362.x

Josefson, Jennifer and Rotar, Alexandra (2019) Oil and gas regulation in the Russian Federation: overview from https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/0-527-3028?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true#co_pageContainer [Accessed on 26.09.2021]

Kalotay, Kalman (2008) Russian transnationals and international investment paradigms, published by Research in International Business and Finance (22) pp. 85–107

Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area — Yugra, Fedetal council accessed via http://council.gov.ru/en/structure/regions/KHM/

Kvon, Gulnara, Lushchik, Irina, Karpenko, Mikhail, Zaitseva, Natalia, Kulkov, Andrei, Galushkin, Alexander and Yakupova, Nailya (2017) Regional Investment Policy: Analysis and Assessment of the Investment Environment State, published by Eurasian Journal of Analytical Chemistry

Larchenko, Lyubov and Kolesnikov, Roman (2017) The Development of the Russian Oil and Gas Industry in Terms of Sanctions and Falling Oil Prices, published by International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 7(2), 352–359

Laurence S. Hanauer (1996) Tatarstan’s bid for autonomy: Tatarstan as a model for the devolution of power in the Russian Federation, The Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, 12:1, 63–82, DOI: 10.1080/13523279608415301

Locatelli, Catherine (2006) The Russian oil industry between public and private governance: obstacles to international oil companies’ investment strategies, published by Energy Policy

Lyubovа O. and Misbakhova, A. (2018) Innovative Potential as a Factor of Increasing the Competitiveness of the Republic of Tatarstan, Journal of History Culture and Art Research, 7(4), pp. 407–415

Mahmood, Haider and Alkhateeb, Tarek Yousef (2018) Foreign Direct Investment, Domestic Investment and Oil Price Nexus in Saudi Arabia, published by International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy

Mitrova, Tatiana and Yermakov, Vitaly (2019) Russia’s Energy Strategy — 2035: Struggling to Remain Relevant, published by Russie.Nei.reports, №28, Ifri, December 2019

Nejati, Mehdi and Bahmani, Mojtaba (2020) The economic impacts of foreign direct investment in oil and gas sector: A CGE analysis for Iranian economy, published by Energy Strategy Reviews

Nyak Baik, Ridwan (2015) Natural Resources Investment of Oil and Gas and Regional Development Impact on Community Empowerment, published by The Indonesian Geographers Association

O., Valieva, E., Kastrikina, L., Tishura and N., Kirina (2020) Main Indicators of Investment and Construction Activities of the Republic of Tatarstan, published by Territorial Body of the Federal State Statistics Service for the Republic of Tatarstan

P., Bolshanik, D., Sannikov, V., Kniazeva and V., Tatiankin (2018) Analysis Of Path Dependence of Infrastructural Economic Sectors Development In Resource-Extraction Region (Case Study Of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra), published by International Conference Economy in the Modern World (ICEMW 2018)

Panibratov, Andrei and Kalotay, Kalman (2009) Russian outward FDI and its policy context, published by the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment

Perifanis, Theodosios and Dagoumas, Athanasios (2017) An Econometric Model for the Oil Dependence of the Russian Economy, published by International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 2017, 7(4), 7–13

Ponkratov, V., Kuznetsov, N., Bashkirova, N., Volkova,M., Alimova, M., Ivleva, M., Vatutina, L., and Elyakova, I. (2020) Predictive Scenarios of the Russian Oil Industry; with a Discussion on Macro and Micro Dynamics of Open Innovation in the COVID 19 Pandemic, published by Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity

Ralf Dickel, Elham Hassanzadeh, James Henderson, Anouk Honoré, Laura El-Katiri, Simon Pirani, Howard Rogers, Jonathan Stern & Katja Yafimava (2014) Reducing European Dependence on Russian Gas:
distinguishing natural gas security from geopolitics, published by Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

Ratner, Svetlana and Ratner, Pavel (2016) Regional Energy Efficiency Programs in Russia: The Factors of Success, published by ISSN 2409–5370, European Regional Science Association (ERSA), Louvain-la-Neuve, Vol. 3, Iss. 1, pp. 71–87

Sabitova, Nadia and Shavaleyeva, Chulpan (2015) Oil and Gas Revenues of the Russian Federation: Trends and Prospects, published by Procedia Economics and Finance 27, pp. 423–428

Sachs, Jeffrey and Warner, Andrew (1995) Natural Resource Abundance and Economic Growth, published by National Bureau of Economic Research

Saneev, Boris (2019) Regional priorities of the Eastern energy policy of Russia, published by Regional Energy Policy of Asian Russia

Sanghi, Apurva, Lange, Glenn- Marie, Naikal, Esther, Emelyanova, Olga, Nemova, Vladislava and Rostovtseva, Irina (2017) How Wealthy is Russia?
Measuring Russia’s comprehensive wealth from 2000–2017, published by World Bank

Semykina, I. O. (2017) Managing Regional Economic Development through Local Content Requirements in Oil and Gas Industry. Ekonomika regiona, published by Economy of Region

Semykina, Irina (2015) Opportunities and benefits of local content requirement policy: Case of Eastern Siberian oil and gas industry, published by European Regional Science Association

Smirnova, Lena (2017) Tatarstan, the Last Region to Lose Its Special Status Under Putin: Kazan looks on as a deal granting it special status expires, https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2017/07/25/tatarstan-special-status-expires-a58483 [Accessed on 30.11.2021]

SurgutNeftGas: 2017 Annual Report

SurgutNeftGas: 2018 Annual Report

SurgutNeftGas: 2019 Annual Report

Tatneft: 2015 Annual Report

Tatneft: 2016 Annual Report

Tatneft: 2019 Annual Report

Tatneft: 2019 Annual Report

V. F. Islamutdinov (2016) Evolution and Specificity Of The Economic Institutions Of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra, published by Economy of the region, Т. 12, issue 2.С. 463–470 doi 10.17059/2016–2–12

V., Islamutdinov (2018) Factors Affecting the Development of the Machine-Building and Metal-Working Industry in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra, published by Yugra State University

В.А. Мау, Я.И. Кузьминова (2013) Стратегия-2020:
Новая модель роста — новая социальная политика. Итоговый доклад о результатах экспертной работы по актуальным проблемам социально экономической стратегии России на период до 2020 года, Издательский дом «Дело», Москва

Государственнй Совет Республики Татарстан (2015) ЗАКОН РЕСПУБЛИКИ ТАТАРСТАН от 17 июня 2015 года N 41-ЗРТ об утверждении Стратегии развития топливно-энергетического комплекса Республики Татарстан на период до 2030 года

Зубаревич, Н.В.(2014) Региональное развитие и региональная политика в России, Московский государственный университет им.М.В. Ломоносова

Рубен Ениколопов, Екатерина Журавская, Сергей Гуриев (2002) Бюджетный федерализм в России: сценарии развития,

Фардиева, И.Ш. (2011) О Концепции Энергетической стратегии Республики Татарстан на период до 2030 года, доклад Заместителя Премьер-Министра Республики Татарстан — министра энергетики, https://kgeu.ru/Document/GetDocument/68f7767b-b8e6-4005-ad4d-17a9e11abfed [Accessed on 17.11.2021]