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Russian Oil Industry Essay

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The oil industry is one of great power that countries are invest in. Russia is one of the leading contenders in producing oil and exports the goods to various countries. With great resources comes great strength. Oil is of the utmost important to every country therefore, Russia has an upper hand in some respects. Moreover, the history behind the oil pipelines and how Russia connects to different countries allows for insight into the power they withhold politically and economically, and on the improvements that need to be made to continue growth in this industry. The world’s largest producer of crude oil is Russia producing more than 5.3 million barrels per day (Barden 2017). The history of Russia’s oil industry started in the 16th …show more content…

Russia’s exports to different countries allows for them to remain one of the leading sectors of economic development (Marston 2014). In the beginning of the pipeline system there were various flaws. The system needed upgrading and in the 1990s “more than 5% of the oil produced in Russia was stolen by tapping into leaking pipelines” (Hays 2016). Russia’s main area of exports go to Europe and specially the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Finland, Belarus, Lithuania, and others. Also, there are exports to China, Japan, the United States, and other miscellaneous countries. According to Barden, “about 70% of Russia’s crude oil exports in 2016 went to European countries… [and] provided more than one-third of the total crude oil imported to European members of the Organization for economic Cooperation and Development” (2017). Next in line to Europe is China receiving 18% of Russia crude oil exports which surpassed Saudi Arabia in 2016 (Barden 2017). China used the pipeline ESPO which stands for East Siberia-Pacific Ocean and it connects through Kazakhstan. One of the main benefits from this pipeline is that Russia’s port in Kozmino allows for the shipments to be made faster than the shipments from the middle east. Seaborne shipments may come in smaller volumes but it allows for a greater flexibility. According to Hays,
“Russia hopes to cash in the oil and gas deposits in Azerbaijan and

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