OilPrice: why not catch up with Russia in any energy industry

The presence of additional survival factors is a fundamental condition for overcoming the global oil and gas crisis that has swept the post-pandemic world. Russia turned out to be the most “gifted” of such life-giving resources. This allows us to talk about it as the main dominant force in the world energy industry, which cannot be caught up with other states exporting raw materials. Why it happened, analyzes American economist John P. Ruehl in an article for the specialized publication OilPrice.com.

The alleged "coronation" of the United States and the fragility of Saudi Arabia

There is no doubt that the oil and gas crisis has hit all exporting countries, including Russia. However, Moscow’s competitors do not have many secondary factors that make it possible to “easily get off” and restore pre-crisis production indicators.



Experts cite the example of the United States, which, thanks to the shale revolution, has become world leaders in oil and gas exports, as well as increased their processing capacities. However, as experts emphasize, America is also a colossal consumer of imported energy. As a result, it cannot influence the world market and its prices. "The Naked King", not otherwise.

The second most important competitor of the Russian Federation in the industry is Saudi Arabia. Her position is even more precarious. The country produces a huge amount of oil, but does not have large refining capacities. This puts Riyadh in the worst position among all the major players in the oil market due to the backwardness of technological processes and the slow development of the processing infrastructure. Despite huge hydrocarbon reserves, Saudi Arabia is an anachronistic country in the industry market, exporting only raw materials, not products.

Advantages of Russia

According to the authors of the study, in addition to being a significant producer and exporter of oil-based raw materials and products, Moscow is also a geopolitically powerful power with a strong army. This allows her not only to protect her infrastructure, but also to attack the enemy (as was the case with the gas pipeline in Georgia in 2008). For example, Saudi Arabia is completely “open” to Iran’s attacks.

Russia is "surrounded" on all sides by potential consumers - Europe and China. This provides an excellent logistics base for the successful supply of Russian energy.

An additional advantage of the Kremlin over Washington is the direct coordination of its political and commercial purposes with the state oil company Rosneft. Other Russian energy companies are also largely in the orbit of the Russian government. US miners are driven by profit rather than geopolitical power, separated from the country's leadership, and often require human rights treaties to be concluded first before making a deal.

And given the incredible achievements of Russian nuclear energy, which has no equal in the world, which is exported abroad in the most economically “correct” form - by providing of technologies and reactors, then the competitors of Russia simply have no chance.

All these factors give the Russian Federation an advantage in the 21st century resource markets, making it possible to positively assess the future of its energy industry, which has no competition in the world.