Prostranstvennaâ Èkonomika (Apr 2024)
Spatial Organization of the Fuel and Energy Complex Products Markets in Russia
Abstract
The article analyzes the markets of fuel and energy complex products in Russia, i.e. of oil, natural gas, coal, electricity, and heating energy. Among the emphasized features of the markets of fuel and energy complex products are the manifold of regulatory influences, the dependence of geographical boundaries of the markets on the development of the corresponding infrastructure, the presence of vertical and horizontal integration, the high dependence of the national markets of the complex products on the corresponding world markets. The combination of the described features on each of the markets of fuel and energy complex products forms a variety of conditions for their functioning within the boundaries of the national economy, which sets the direction of commodity flows and determines the development of the relevant transport infrastructure, which, in turn, are manifested in the spatial organization of product markets (their geographical segmentation). The research algorithm consisted of the analysis of sectoral markets based on the following parameters: properties of energy as a commodity, resource base, characteristics of producers, consumption structure, infrastructure development, and institutional conditions. Based on the combination of parameters, segments were identified for each of the fuel and energy complex product markets. The oil, natural gas, coal and heating market have two segments each: western and eastern. In the coal market, the eastern segment itself has two segments: eastern coastal and eastern mainland. The electricity market has three segments: western, eastern and northeastern. The analysis allows us to identify the western and eastern segments in each of the fuel and energy complex product markets, which are diametrically different in their characteristics. The stability of the distribution of the country’s territories by segments suggests the presence of invariants determined by the parameters of physical space, the effect of which is weakly susceptible to regulatory influences
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