Peculiarities of Investment Decision-making in the Oil and Gas Industry Aimed to Ensure Sustainable Growth of the Russian Economy

A dynamic analysis of the composition and structure of the oil and gas sector of the Russian economy was carried out in the study, a relationship between cyclical fluctuations of the world economy and energy prices was analyzed, and trends in world market prices for energy were studied. The authors identified basic systematic risks and uncertainties affecting investment decision-making in the Russian oil and gas sector and studied the peculiarities of making investment decisions. The academic novelty of the study is to propose specific ways to improve the investment decision-making of the Russian oil and gas business entities in the context of high macroeconomic risks to ensure sustainable growth of the Russian economy. The results obtained in the framework of the present study may be implemented by enterprises of the oil and gas industry and will also be of interest to other business structures in risk management, which is especially relevant in the context of high economic and geopolitical uncertainty. The paper presents mathematical models and justifies the choice of parameters to evaluate the fields taking the uncertainty into account. The approaches to formation of the investment decision-making policy based on real options method are proposed. Keywords: oil and gas sector, oil and gas investment projects, oil quotations, decision-making models, real options JEL Classifications: E3, Q

Russian-Chinese Cooperation Prospects in the Electric Power Industry

Russia and China have long been trading partners and cooperated in most industries, including the electric power sector. Even with close and long-standing ties, the further scope of Russian-Chinese relations in the electric power sector should be defined taking into account China's currently implemented Belt and Road Initiative requiring enormous resources, particularly in commodities. An analysis of Russia's electric power market shows an imbalance between the levels of demand and supply skewing to the supply side. Russian excess supply of electricity could be feasibly channelled to China under long-term contracts. For now, such supplies have not been operated at the levels planned several years ago, which indicates low utilisation of the existing potential of cooperation between the countries in the sector. Besides, considerable potential exists for partnership between Russia and China in upgrading electric power facilities and supplying electricity equipment and its subsequent maintenance