Synopses & Reviews
The Russian gas giant Gazprom is a symbol of Russia's huge energy resources. This volume aims to improve understanding of the nature of Gazprom, the biggest commercial entity in Russia and the biggest energy supplier in Europe. Gazprom exerts a strong influence on European energy security and plays a crucial role in the international energy cooperation of Europe and Russia.
This detailed case study of the energy giant explores the motivation behind the company's strategies and tactics and its policies both domestically and in the near and far abroad. Textbooks on energy economics typically cover efficient extraction paths and regimes for the rational usage of energy resources. The authors of this volume base their analysis on a broad view that goes far beyond this scope. A summary of the history of both the Russian gas industry and the company and a clear description of its basic infrastructure provides a backdrop for the discussion of contemporary issues. Highlighting the role of politics in Russia's gas trade, the authors examine the challenges Gazprom faces in the European gas markets. They offer a historical overview of this Russo-European cooperation, from the gas deals of the 1970s to the recent attempts to create an 'energy empire' and Gazprom's responses to challenges presented by developments in the EU energy markets. The main focus of this study is the conflict between the strategy of vertical integration adopted by Gazprom in the early 2000's and the company's options in response to ongoing changes in these markets. The study covers a broad spectrum of issues, including Gazprom's attempts to penetrate end-user energy markets, political barriers to downstream investment, opportunities to capture new market niches in Europe, and obstacles to implementing Gazprom's new strategic plans.
Gazprom provides a critical analysis of Russia's energy industry, making it essential reading for specialists in the fields of international energy relations, energy economics, political science, and the economic history of Russia. It will be of interest to those researching the development of the Russian energy sector and issues of energy security and energy policy. For students of economics and political science at the undergraduate level the book will augment and complement the core materials in their courses on energy economics and geopolitics.
Synopsis
This detailed case study of Gazprom explores motivation behind the company's foreign policies, it's strategies and tactics. It examines the challenges Gazprom faces in the European market and emphasizes the role of politics in Russsia's gas trade.
About the Author
Andrey Vavilov joined the Russian Ministry of Finance in 1992 and resigned in 1997 as a First Deputy Minister of Finance. From 2002 to 2010 he served as a member of the Council of Russian Federation. He is a Visiting Senior Scholar in Penn State University and a scientific advisor to the Institute for Financial Studies.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Mirages of Energy Superpower: Gazprom's Ambitions of Dominance and the Power of the Market; Andrei Vavilov1. Overview of Russia's Natural Gas Industry; Ivan Nazarov2. Value and Performance: Gazprom from the Corporate Governance
and Finance Perspective; Vladimir Kreyndel3. A Phantom Energy Empire: The Failure of Gazprom's Downstream Integration; Andrei Vavilov and GeorgyTrofimov4. A Struggle for Pipelines: Attempts at Strategic Expansion in the Near Abroad; Andrei Vavilov and Georgy Trofimov5. European Challenges: Competitive Pressure, Gas Market Liberalization, and the Crisis of Long-Term Contracting; Andrei Vavilov and Georgy Trofimov6. The New Export Routes and Gazprom's Strategic Opportunities in Europe; Andrei Vavilov, Galina Kovalishina, and Georgy Trofimov7. The Evolution of the Russian Gas Market; Ivan Nazarov