Andrei Belyi

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at University of Eastern Finland

In this chapter, I will briefly describe Viacheslav (Slava) Belyi’s biography. Being in a position of his son, I witnessed a large part of his scientific pathway, his profound curiosity about scientists’ contributions to the real world. My father was convinced that scientific knowledge could help people understand the world around them in a broader...

Green LNG is a newly emerging trend in the natural gas industry which has been incentivised by the decarbonisation process. This new line of thinking encourages LNG suppliers to offset their GHG emissions from the LNG supply chain by investing in carbon neutral projects outside the sector. As the core focus of LNG use will be on transport, two stag...

The current slump in oil prices is a reflection of fundamental uncertainties and, unlike previous such episodes, will do little to boost economic growth. Its effect on oil-producing countries is likely to be asymmetric, with Russia lagging behind OPEC in terms of the competitiveness of its oil industry. The era of low oil prices does not bode well...

This chapter will specifically cover the institutions surrounding the oil price and resource economics. The objective is to distance the approach taken from the resource determinism which characterizes most of the mainstream literature on the political economy of energy. The theoretical overview aims to highlight societal evolution transiting from...

This book defines oil price as a social institution that exists beyond supply-demand mechanisms. Discussing oil markets in the context of the broader sociology of prices, it covers a number of theoretical and practical dimensions, such as new market uncertainties and trends, and social perceptions of energy security and of power. Further, based on...

This article analyses the three main hydrocarbon markets in North Asia (oil, pipeline gas and liquified natural gas) and outlines their historical development and future potential with regard to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It concludes that that the oil market may evolve towards a proper regional market even without strong support from...

This opinion paper seeks to initiate discussion of the institutional and societal causes of oil price. On this basis, the social embeddedness concept is proposed instead of the frequently used producer-consumer juxtaposition. Observation shows no linearity between resource distribution imbalances and supply dynamics on the one hand and price on the...

Most of the energy related studies do often fall into a trap of resource-determinism, which turns the arguments around a primary importance of energy resources. The present commentary attempts to highlight major shortcomings of the resource-determinism and aims to conversely argue for a necessary social dimension in the resource–society interaction...

Andrei V. Belyi analyses how transnational gas markets have evolved and impacted on EU-Russia energy relations. He details how the shale gas revolution has exposed gas markets to new practices and norms, and made them more market-oriented. At the same time, he examines how Euro-Russian energy ties have become locked in path dependence patterns, and...

Gazprom, Russian's prime state owned gas producer, is facing severe pressure stemming from international gas market dynamics, EU regulation and the Ukraine crisis. Slowing gas demand coupled with shifting pricing models and a persisting transit issue pose significant challenges for Gazprom's business going forward. Domestic pressure emerges from co...

Research on the role of states and markets in the hydrocarbon sector is highly topical in contemporary International Political Economy. In some areas, this is a result of new hydrocarbon discoveries, in others it relates to factors like unsatisfactory progress in energy markets or pollution and other negative externalities. Recent international dis...

The Russia–China deal in May 2014 opened a new page in Gazprom's efforts to orient its exports to Asia. The political logic behind the new agreement resembles the first Soviet gas export contracts with European states. However, the international gas markets favour Asia's position in general and China's in particular. Moreover, China is now having a...

The Europeanization of energy policies and markets, the externalization of effects and the attempts at supply diversification have had an important transformative effect on EU-Russia structures surrounding the gas sector. In particular, the EU’s gas policy paradigms aim at diminishing the influence of gas champions, including Gazprom, within the EU...

Chapters 1 and 2 of this book sought to outline various aspects of the influence of energy on international political economy (IPE). The global dimension of this analysis briefly reflects certain general patterns of structural power, norms and economic trends in international energy relations. However, the global IPE dimension does not always refle...

EU-Russia energy interdependence comprises a complex mixture of cooperation and disputes. However, the events of 2014 surrounding the political crisis in Ukraine reinforced the conflictual pattern of relations. It has now been recognized that many underestimated the depth of Russia’s increasing resentment towards the EU’s normative expansion to pos...

International political economy (IPE) involves the analysis of complex interactions between political and economic factors related to policies, markets and societies and reflects classical political economy concepts relating to institutions. For instance, political and market institutions create conditions for the development of the mineral and ene...

This book has sought to show the complex interrelations between the political and economic factors that impinge on the gas markets, taking EU-Russia gas relations as a case study. More generally, it has discussed the interaction between global developments in the transnational gas markets and region-specific features, which are characterized by bot...

An international political economy (IPE) framework provides a very solid basis on which to analyse the correlation between the evolution of the energy sectors, their effect on policies, laws and institutions. Moreover, the evolution of energy infrastructures and markets cannot be viewed in isolation from institutional developments and various pract...

This chapter aims to analyse the relationship between energy market trends in fostering infrastructural interdependencies, on one hand, and institutional integration at the regional level, on the other. This interrelation is inherent in the classical theoretical debate on the influences of institutions upon infrastructures and vice versa. Theoretic...

Russia’s hydrocarbon sectors and policies represent a number of interesting specificities. Russia’s infrastructural potential and significant domestic market reflect a difference from developing petro-states. At the same time, Russia is ever-increasingly dependent on oil and gas export revenues, which distances it from industrialized energy exporte...

The analysis presented in this book aimed at demonstrating an evolving character of the state-market relations in one of the most strategic spheres of IPE. This book’s contributions revealed that states and markets reflect interdependent institutions, which change their essence over time. Structural powers of production, knowledge, finance, and sec...

Comment: Russian oil and gas in the new in-ternational context -sanctions produce effect, political consequences are still uncertain

The article attempts to highlight major institutional causes for weaknesses of multilateralism in energy relations between States. In particular, the view defended here focuses on the concept of logic of appropriateness, which helps to conceptualize the level of acceptance of norms and practices. Four various angles of institutions of energy relati...

This article analyses Russia’s institutional dynamics in the hydrocarbon sectors. Both the oil and gas sectors have experienced a certain degree of decentralization, which has been accompanied by a weakening role of the State. This comparison aims to demonstrate that Russia’s oil and gas industries are significantly different in spite of their post...

Dynamics of Energy Governance in Europe and Russia provides substantial explanations and analyses of transitions, change and uncertainty in energy issues in the broad region of Europe and Russia. The book focuses on questions of energy governance and approaches this topic from an international political economy (IPE) perspective. As such, this repr...

Dynamics of Energy Governance in Europe and Russia has aimed to bring energy into international political economy (IPE) by analysing regional energy governance dynamics within a contemporary IPE framework. More than anything else, the book has revealed the fruitfulness of interdisciplinary dialogue, and the utility of approaches which escape from n...

In just over a decade, energy efficiency has become a high priority of energy policies of many industrialised nations and has emerged as an objective in transition economies. Energy efficiency is associated with reducing energy input necessary for an economic output, or in other terms, to decrease energy intensity. Energy efficiency is closely rela...

The subject touches upon recent trends in Russia's gas policies in the context of the ever-growing importance of domestic independent gas producers one one hand and an ongoing transformation of the EU markets on the other.

The article analyses the overall framework of Russian electricity reforms, which needs to be considered within general energy targets (ie sustainability and security of supply). The analysis demonstrates that although Russia achieved quite good results in electricity market liberalization, gas market remains opaque and environmental markets are onl...

On 24 November 2010, the Energy Charter Conference adopted a "Road Map for the Modernisation of the Energy Charter Process" (Road Map) as a strategic document to respond to the important changes in global energy relations since the 1990’s and ensure the relevance and authority of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in current circumstances and for the...

The debates surrounding the European Union (EU) energy dependency on Russia should take into account the issue of non-acceptance of governance norms, defined hereafter by logic of appropriateness. The logic of appropriateness demonstrates the importance of values and norms in the setting of energy governance. The EU is the world’s largest gas impor...

The article points out the renewable energy potential in Russia in light of the new policy targets development, technical and economic potential as well as limits related to a lack of effectiveness of renewable energy promoting policies. Moreover, the article links the renewable energy development to the liberalization of Russian power sector which...

The views expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of Chatham House, its staff, associates or Council. Chatham House is independent and owes no allegiance to any government or to any political body. It does not take institutional positions on policy issues. This document is issu...

This article examines the history of the Russian oil industry. It shows in particular its progress to become a competitive producer, capable of adapting itself to new situations. At the same time, it must be emphasized that Russian oil prospects are highly dependent on the oil pipeline network. Construction of new infrastructures may be postponed a...

The present article describes the major factors of the Chinese energy strategy. The analysis is focused on three major dimensions of the Chinese energy strategy: security of supply, competitiveness and environmental protection. The security of supply dimension is characterized by a decrease of import strategy from a dependency on Gulf countries to...

By analysing the context of the creation of the Single Energy Market, this article tries to understand the logic behind the coexistence of two energy safety concepts: (1) the financial gains of international trading (2) the protection against supply shortage risks using domestic self-sufficiency policies. Both concepts are used on an informative co...

This article sets out to evaluate the impact of certain new factors of the EU's energy security policy on its relations with Russia. Buzan's approach to security sub‐systems is considered, as well as the concept of security as a dynamic political process of 'securisation'. The current changes affect different dimensions of the securisation of EU en...

The energy issue is assuming a strategic importance in relations between Russia and the European Union. Among other things, this is characterised by the debates concerning the energy Charter Treaty, by negotiations concerning Russia's application to join the WTO as well as by establishment of a dialogue between Europe and Russia concerning energy....