Aims and Objectives
The purpose of this edited volume is to offer an overview of developments in the international political economy (IPE) of oil and gas from empirical, case-study focused perspectives. Drawing on a selection of the empirical material the book seeks to capture trends and dynamics confined to security, governance, regulation and development .
Context
The origins of social scientific energy research dates back to the 1970s, and became reflective of political and security developments in the Middle East —the key oil producing region. Market forces and price declines later eroded the ‘gloomy’ picture of the conflict in the region and insecurity of energy supply post-1967 and throughout the 1970s. Policies of oil diversification played a key part and much attention was placed on searching for alternatives to the Middle East . In the post-Cold War environment, the international status of oil and gas persisted embracing both the developed and developing economies. International economic developments altered the focus of academic enquiry, epitomized by the rise of the developing nations—Brazil , Russia , India and China—which has led to more emphasis being placed on the political economy of energy as an issue of particular importance. The geopolitics of energy has returned with the rise of Russia and led by the assertive policies of its government and unfolding rivalry it wages with the United States (US ) .
The new development and trading structures of energy throughout the 2000s and 2010s reflect how technological advancements have changed the IPE of oil and gas , exemplified by the phenomenon of US shale production. At the backdrop of falling oil prices, globalizing and regionalizing energy policy and law have been challenging the established energy consumer-producer relationship. Finally, the salience of the developmental and environmental aspects of energy has been muted in the era of plentiful oil.
Energy and Political Economy
In recent years a number of key academic studies have been published focusing on the political economy of energy and natural resources, including the implications of climate change from a global perspective (Goldthau and Witte 2010; Kuzemko et al. 2012).
This book aims to capture a sample of empirical developments in the oil and gas industry, located at the intersection between international politics and economics.
The re-emergence of oil and gas at the top table of geo-strategy combined with ‘markets and states’ governing the commodities in the global ‘post-OPEC’ (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) era of shale necessitates a renewed discussion on the nature of the unfolding dynamics of global energy governance. By reviewing the empirical developments in some of the key oil and gas issue areas, this volume seeks to outline the latest developments to illuminate our thinking about the political economy of oil and gas .
A review of recently published IPE of energy volumes reveals that contributions broadly contextualize energy from the perspectives of (a) institutionalism, (b) security of supply and/or energy policy and (c) developmental approaches. Books with a distinct institutional and regional focus include Goldthau and Sitter (2015), who take European energy as the reference point for discussing the legal and policy ‘culture’ of the Community in regulating energy supply and trade , underpinned by normative market logic. In turn, Kuzemko (2013) focuses on the energy-climate nexus to demonstrate the rise of institutionalization in governing energy and the challenges this produces in the context of the United Kingdom (UK). Within this literature the policy dimension has often been featured, in particular with respect to the European Union (EU), thus broadly overlapping with the institutional strand of energy literature. In this category, the key contributions in recent years include Youngs (2011) and Boersma (2015). Cutting across the boundaries of security of supply and Europe-Russia energy relations is a contribution by Belyi (2015). The interactions between energy policy and security of supply in hydrocarbon sector are explored in an edited volume by Belyi and Talus (2015). Finally, the ethics and justice dimensions have appeared in recent energy scholarship building on the resource curse thesis in setting out a new perspective of energy as a developmental challenge (in particular Wenar 2016; Sovacool 2013).
By placing the emphasis on the oil and gas as the focus of the volume, the book contributes to these debates by empirically discussing key developments in the political economy of oil and gas , including the role the resources are set to play in the post-Paris Agreement world.
Structure of the Book
The book is structured around four parts.
The first part is entitled Energy Security and Strategy Contexts and is comprise four chapters.
In the second chapter Tina Hunter argues for a fundamental shift of the energy security paradigm as a result of Arctic petroleum discoveries and technological development . Drawing on shifting production dynamics, including unconventional production in the US, Hunter argues there is a geopolitical makeover underway, with the significance of Arctic resources and playing a game-changing role in energy security . The third chapter by Peter Rutland offers a critical perspective on the role of Russian energy as a political and economic asset. Focusing on the mechanics of Russia as a petrostate , Rutland’s chapter explains how the hydrocarbon industry has shaped the country’s economy, producing a nuanced case study in the political economy of oil and gas .
In the fourth chapter Alexandra-Maria Bocse discusses strategic considerations concerning natural gas import capacity resulting from EU energy policy and diplomacy. Focusing on analysis of planned pipeline projects to supply natural gas to Europe, Bocse presents a highly contested empirical issue of energy security in Europe as not one solely defined by rules and markets. The fifth chapter by Jose Bolanos examines the pitfalls of the quest for energy security in relation to oil. Drawing on tensions posed by historical, cooperative and competitive approaches to oil security, Bolanos draws attention to the need for rethinking in the way oil markets are designed to address their failures when they occur rather than seeking to prevent them.
The second part—entitled Transnational Governance and Economics—has four chapters. In Chap. 6 Rafael Leal-Arcas provides an empirical overview of the role natural gas is set to play in enhancing energy security while simultaneously helping to achieve sustainable development . Drawing on existing organizational, legal and policy makeup, Leal-Arcas underscores the importance of both natural gas and renewable energies in enhancing the future world energy balance.
In Chap. 7, Wojciech Ostrowski provides an alternative perspective on the rise of the transparency agenda in the extractive industries . Drawing on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Ostrowski argues that as much as growing awareness of social corporate responsibil...