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The Non-Russian Energy Sectors of the Former USSR

Within ten years, energy relationships within the former Soviet Union and between the former Soviet Union and the West are likely to be very different from those that exist today. In the independent states which emerged from the USSR, the shape of energy sectors still reflects Soviet administrative legacies and non-market patterns of dependency on the Russian Federation. Whether these sectors are engaged primarily in the production of hydrocarbons or refining and transport, global energy markets, supply constraints, competition to develop new resources, political aspirations and national security imperatives are making the status quo increasingly untenable. Yet in this sphere more than any other, the forces that seek to diminish dependency have been hindered by institutional incapacity and state incompetence, political opportunism, venality, judicial 'defencelessness' and 'shadow' structures of ownership, not to say Russian state policy.

For how long will this malign configuration of forces last? How will change and resistance to change influence the investment climate, energy supplies, political relationships and regional stability? How differentiated will the West's approach need to be? What new relationships will we need to develop, and what aspects of current policy will need to change? Over the next two years, this project will examine:

  • The factors that will shape Russia's energy policy in its immediate neighbourhood;
  • The national energy strategies of newly independent states;
  • The 'virtual' and real structures of ownership and regulation of energy sectors;
  • The role of intermediate structures (e.g., RusUkrEnergo and Itera);
  • The investment climate (conditions of entry, property rights, contract enforcement)
  • The feasibility of new transport projects (e.g. Trans-Caspian, Odessa-Brody-Plock, etc);
  • The role of the EU and other external actors

Further Information

For more information about this project contact:

Alex Nice, Programme Administrator
Tel: +44 (0)20 7314 3627

More information about Chatham House work on energy issues can be found on the Energy, Environment and Development project pages >>