-
Date submitted2023-11-15
-
Date accepted2024-09-24
-
Date published2024-12-25
Development and validation of an approach to the environmental and economic assessment of decarbonization projects in the oil and gas sector
- Authors:
- Nadezhda A. Sheveleva
This article addresses the problem of selecting a priority decarbonization project for an oil and gas company aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The wide range of decarbonization options and assessment methods prompted the development of a comprehensive ranking system for project selection. This system incorporates both internal and external factors of project implementation, a two-stage algorithm that filters out unsuitable projects taking into account sustainable development goals, and a quantitative evaluation approach using absolute and relative indicators. The proposed system evaluates decarbonization projects by considering not only the reduction of emissions in both absolute and relative terms, but also the broader environmental, social, and economic aspects relevant to the oil and gas company and the national economy. It includes a ranking mechanism for identifying priority projects and integrates carbon regulation incentives and green taxonomy tools into the economic assessment for more precise comparative analysis. The quantitative assessment in absolute terms involves a specialized net present value calculation, which accounts for revenue from both carbon credit sales and the potential sale of new low-carbon products, if applicable. The proposed assessment provides for targeted analysis of specific performance indicators, such as the cost per unit of emissions reduced, tax and social security contributions per unit of emissions reduced, energy efficiency improvements, and other indicators used for additional assessments of projects under otherwise equal conditions.
-
Date submitted2022-04-07
-
Date accepted2023-04-21
-
Date published2023-08-28
Development of a new assessment system for the applicability of digital projects in the oil and gas sector
Digital transformation is one of the global trends that has covered most sectors of the economy and industry. For oil and gas companies, the introduction of digital technologies has become not just a trend, but one of the factors for ensuring competitiveness and maintaining a stable position in the market in a rapidly changing macro environment. At the same time, despite the positive effects achieved, digital transformation is a complex process from the point of view of implementation and is associated with high technological, financial, and economic risks. The work aims to develop and test a new system for evaluating the applicability of digital projects in the oil and gas sector. The research methodology includes the application of the Gartner curve, methods of expert assessments, and tools for assessing the economic efficiency of investment projects. The developed assessment system is based on a comprehensive accounting of four components: the level of digital maturity of the company; compliance of the implemented technology with the goals and objectives of the organization; the level of reliability of the implemented technology; the level of innovation of the implemented project. Particular attention is paid to the practical testing of the proposed methodology based on the evaluation of a digital project implemented by a Russian oil and gas company.
-
Date submitted2022-06-28
-
Date accepted2023-01-19
-
Date published2023-02-27
Influence of mining rent on the efficiency of using natural potential: the paradox of plenty and its Russian specifics
- Authors:
- Arunas A. Lapinskas
The most powerful potential of Russia's natural resources is only partially realized, and determining the reasons for the insufficient efficiency of its use is a current research topic. The exploitation of mineral resources that bring mining rent (primarily oil and gas) gives rise to the so-called “paradox of plenty” (PP), which in some cases manifests itself as a significant slowdown in economic development. The purpose of the article is to clarify the signs, degree and forms of PP manifestation and related problems (“resource curse”, “oil curse”, etc.) in the Russian economy. Since the causes of these phenomena are usually associated with rent extraction and peculiarities of the institutional structure of the economy, the works of leading economists who support the theories of “rent-oriented behavior” and the role of public institutions in the process of the PP emergence were critically analyzed. To determine the signs and degree of PP manifestation and related problems, an analysis of determining the shares of oil and gas in the structure of exports, revenues from their sale in the federal budget, and oil and gas products in the structure of GDP, was made. It is concluded that there are no sufficient grounds for ascertaining clear signs of a “rent-oriented” Russian economy and a “resource curse”; important counteracting factors that refute the unambiguous conclusions about the high degree of PP impact on the Russian economy were identified. The author's interpretation of the role of public institutions, the factors of formation and forms of PP manifestation, the specifics of differential mining rent and its role in the formation of PP are proposed; options for solving problems generated by PP – directions for improving the tax system in the field of oil and gas, etc.; substantiation of the need to develop a strategic state program for diversifying the sectoral structure of the Russian economy; directions for adjusting economic policy in the field of oil and gas industry development, etc.
-
Date submitted2022-11-08
-
Date accepted2022-11-21
-
Date published2023-02-27
Assessment of the role of the state in the management of mineral resources
Mineral resources as natural capital can be transformed into human, social and physical capital that guarantees the sustainable development of a country, exclusively through professional public management. Public management of a country's mineral resource potential is seen as an element of transnational governance which provides for the use of laws, rules and regulations within the jurisdictional and sectoral capabilities of the state, minimising its involvement as a producer of minerals. The features of the ideology of economic liberalism, which polarises the societies of mineral-producing countries and denies the role of the state as a market participant, have been studied. The analysis of the influence of the radical new order of neoliberal world ideology on the development of the extractive sector and state regulation has been presented.
-
Date submitted2022-04-04
-
Date accepted2022-05-13
-
Date published2022-07-13
Distribution of trace elements controlled by sector and growth zonings in zircon from a miaskite pegmatite of the Vishnegorsky massif, the Southern Urals
Data on the content and distribution of trace and rare-earth elements (SIMS method) in sectors and growth zones of a large zircon crystal from miaskite pegmatites of the Vishnegogorsky massif are presented. The morphology of the zircon crystal is a combination of a dipyramid {111} and prism {010}. It has been established that the growth sector of dipyramid {111} is characterized by almost one order of magnitude higher contents of Y, Nb, REE, Th; higher Th/U and Eu/Eu* values; REE distribution spectra are flatter compared to prism {010} growth sector. A regular decrease in the content of trace and rare-earth elements in the direction from the central zone to the marginal zone of crystal growth was revealed. A smooth regression of zircon crystallization temperature of zircon from 960 °C in the central zone to 740 °C in the marginal zone of the dipyramid sector and 700-650 °C in the prism sector has been revealed, which may be a reflection of thermal evolution of the crystallization process. It is assumed that crystallization of the central zone of zircon occurred at early stages from a relatively trace-еlement-rich melt. The crystallization was completed at lower temperatures, probably, simultaneously with the formation of REE-concentrating minerals, which resulted in natural decrease of content of trace and rare-earth elements in the melt and, consequently, in zircon crystallizing from it.
-
Date submitted2020-05-13
-
Date accepted2020-06-24
-
Date published2020-10-08
Barriers to implementation of hydrogen initiatives in the context of global energy sustainable development
Modern trends in the global energy market linked to the Sustainable Development Goals often lead to the adoption of political decisions with little basis in fact. Stepping up the development of renewable energy sources is an economically questionable but necessary step in terms of its social and ecological effects. However, subsequent development of hydrogen infrastructure is, at the very least, a dangerous initiative. In connection with mentioned above, an attempt to examine hydrogen by conducting an integral assessment of its characteristics has been made in this article. As a result of the research conducted, the following conclusions concerning the potential of the widespread implementation of hydrogen in the power generation sector have been made: as a chemical element, it harms steel structures, which significantly impedes the selection of suitable materials; its physical and volume characteristics decrease the general efficiency of the energy system compared to similar hydrocarbon solutions; the hydrogen economy does not have the necessary foundation in terms of both physical infrastructure and market regulation mechanisms; the emergence of widely available hydrogen poses a danger for society due to its high combustibility. Following the results of the study, it was concluded that the existing pilot hydrogen projects are positive yet not scalable solutions for the power generation sector due to the lack of available technologies to construct large-scale and geographically distributed infrastructure and adequate international system of industry regulation. Thus, under current conditions, the risks of implementing such projects considerably exceed their potential ecological benefits.
-
Date submitted2008-11-16
-
Date accepted2009-01-15
-
Date published2009-12-11
The USA mineral-resources sector development in the globalization epoch
- Authors:
- A. A. Maltsev
There are revealed the peculiarities of America’s mineral-resources sector at the modern stage of development. The influence of globalization processes on the US mineral-resources sector evolution is considered. The strategy and tactics of US mineral-resources sector state positioning policy in new management frameworks are being scrutinized.
-
Date submitted2008-11-21
-
Date accepted2009-01-03
-
Date published2009-12-11
Financial conglomerates: opportunities for cooperation with mining enterprises
- Authors:
- K. A. Shakhpazov
In this article it is argued whether there are significant opportunities for cooperation between financial conglomerates and the enterprises of the mining industry. The activities of financial conglomerates are not investigated thoroughly yet, as the alliances of that kind are of the relatively recent emergence and are now at the stage of rapid development. Their interactions with other industries have not been deeply researched either. Since the financial conglomerates have major influence on the modern world economical environment, it seems necessary to analyze the probable effect they may trigger in the strategic branch of Russian economy. This theme is particularly interesting nowadays, as the economical crisis demands for the search of new managerial solutions, including the financing sphere.