Investment Climate of Russia’s Oil and Gas Industry

Despite the harmful environmental effects of fossil energy, forecasts show that in the next decades the global economy will still rely heavily on energy resources like oil and gas. Therefore, countries like Russia will remain important suppliers on international oil and gas markets. But in order to satisfy future demand, Russia has to develop new oil and gas fields, especially in its arctic regions. Moreover, these demanding climate zones call for the support of foreign energy companies to realize the necessary investments. Therefore, the thesis evaluates the investment climate of Russia’s oil and gas industry and associated risk factors. By considering the performance of two major foreign investors, the thesis reveals risk factors far beyond operational challenges. As foreign energy companies face substantial political intervention and economic instabilities, the thesis further outlines the risk potential of those specific country risk factors. Given the highly unfavourable situation of foreign energy companies in Russia, the thesis evaluates the possibilities of risk assessment by performing a Value-at-Risk-Analysis. The approach shows how investors could possibly assess financial risk of investments. But with regard to Russia’s oil and gas industry, the analysis also discloses undeniable limitations of quantitative measures, making investments in Russia still adventurous.