Impact of economic sanctions on financing for oil and gas projects in the Russian Arctic

Abstract

The article analyzes the impact of the economic sanctions of 2022–2023 on the financing for oil and gas projects in the Russian Arctic. The relevance of the topic is attributed to the importance of developing the Arctic oil and gas potential for the energy sector, which is a pivotal industry for the Russian economy. The Arctic zone contains a significant part of Russian and global hydrocarbon reserves. The economic and political feasibility of their development is increasing amid the resource depletion in the traditional production basins and the shift of energy consumption сenters to the Asia-Pacific countries. The author considers the role of the oil and gas industry in the global and national economy, identifies the specific features of the oil and gas projects in the Arctic climatic conditions, analyzes the main economic sanctions affecting the financing for the projects. The assessment of their impact on the Arctic LNG 2 and Vostok Oil projects is also provided. The research is based on the methods of systemic, statistical and comparative analysis, economic analysis, case method and risk assessment. The author concludes that the imposed sanctions have significantly limited the opportunities for financing for the oil and gas investment projects in the Russian Arctic. However, the impact of sanctions may be quite moderate in the short run, while the lack of financing may lead to a change in the timelines and scale of ongoing projects on the horizon of 5–10 years.