Oil And Gas In Russia And The Former Soviet Union

The Russian Federation is a leading oil producer and has a major oil supply system. This book describes the current Russian situation and prospects for the future development of its industry. Accurate data on the Russian system of oil pipelines are published here in English for the first time and will be useful to those interested or involved in the oil business. The book provides information on technologies used, including their technical and economic characteristics and current research. Part I discusses oil reserves and current resource base, prospects for their development, potential oil reserves, and those already explored. Part II discusses conditions under which oil is produced and describes features particular to Russian oil production, associated problems and technologies, including their engineering and economic aspects. Part III highlights the background, current state, and operational problems of the oil transportation system of the Federation and other countries of the former Soviet Union - one of the world's largest energy systems. Also reviewed are the technical state and operational reliability of the main pipeline network, including a general description of the pipeline system, design and construction of oil pipelines, repair and maintenance, and economic and control problems.

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year on Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics The Russian oil industry—which vies with Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil, providing nearly 12 percent of the global supply—is facing mounting problems that could send shock waves through the Russian economy and worldwide. Wheel of Fortune provides an authoritative account of this vital industry from the last years of communism to its uncertain future. Tracking the interdependence among Russia’s oil industry, politics, and economy, Thane Gustafson shows how the stakes extend beyond international energy security to include the potential threat of a destabilized Russia. “Few have studied the Russian oil and gas industry longer or with a broader political perspective than Gustafson. The result is this superb book, which is not merely a fascinating, subtle history of the industry since the Soviet Union’s collapse but also the single most revealing work on Russian politics and economics published in the last several years.” —Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs “The history of Russia’s oil industry since the collapse of communism is the history of the country itself. There can be few better guides to this terrain than Thane Gustafson.” —Neil Buckley, Financial Times

Considine (an analyst with Engage Energy Canada) and Kerr (University of Saskatchewan) argue that Russia will occupy a strategic role in the future world energy market. This book details the development of the Russian oil economy and provides an overview of its position in the coming century. It assesses the policies and institutions of the Russian Federation, and offers recommendations and forecasts. Statistics are provided, representing reserves, production, and tax rates from 1860 to 2000. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

In the aftermath of the financial collapse of August 1998, it looked as if Russia's day as a superpower had come and gone. That it should recover and reassert itself after less than a decade is nothing short of an economic and political miracle. Based on extensive research, including several interviews with Vladimir Putin, this revealing book chronicles Russia's dramatic reemergence on the world stage, illuminating the key reason for its rebirth: the use of its ever-expanding energy wealth to reassert its traditional great power ambitions. In his deft, informative narrative, Marshall Goldman traces how this has come to be, and how Russia is using its oil-based power as a lever in world politics. The book provides an informative overview of oil in Russia, traces Vladimir Putin's determined effort to reign in the upstart oil oligarchs who had risen to power in the post-Soviet era, and describes Putin's efforts to renationalize and refashion Russia's industries into state companies and his vaunted "national champions" corporations like Gazprom, largely owned by the state, who do the bidding of the state. Goldman shows how Russia paid off its international debt and has gone on to accumulate the world's third largest holdings of foreign currency reserves--all by becoming the world's largest producer of petroleum and the world's second largest exporter. Today, Vladimir Putin and his cohort have stabilized the Russian economy and recentralized power in Moscow, and fossil fuels (oil and natural gas) have made it all possible. The story of oil and gas in Russia is a tale of discovery, intrigue, corruption, wealth, misguidance, greed, patronage, nepotism, and power. Marshall Goldman tells this story with panache, as only one of the world's leading authorities on Russia could.