The Export of Russian Gas to Europe: Breaking Up the Monopoly of Gazprom
Year: 2007
Type: preprint
Abstract: :\nHaving exports from more than one Russian gas producer has been an important issue in the\nRussian–EU energy dialogue during the last decade. Nevertheless, in June 2006, Russian Federal\nlaw legalized the de facto export monopoly of Gazprom. Political and commercial interests have\nregularly explained the Russian strategy for the European gas market. However, it is important that\neconomic efficiency is also taken into account. Economists often evaluate the efficiency of a policy\nthrough its effect on national welfare. In this paper, I examine both theoretically and numerically\nwhether a liberalization of Russian gas exports would increase Russian national welfare, given that\nthe Russian domestic market is already deregulated. The results of the paper show that the\ndominant position of Gazprom in the Russian gas industry might stimulate the government to support\nGazprom's export monopoly. The market share of independent producers in the Russian gas market\nwould have to be significantly increased for Russian export liberalization to be welfare enhancing.\nKeywords: Russia, Natural gas, export, monopoly, national welfare
Author: Marina Tsygankova
Institution: Statistics Norway
Language: English
Subfield: General Energy
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2153131499