Seminar: Global Energy Politics and History, Jack Sharples, PhD, European University of St.Petersburg

Summary

St Petersburg is Russia’s ‘Window on Europe’, and that window opens onto the Baltic Sea region. Here, in Russia’s neighbourhood, we are currently witnessing several interesting developments on the regional natural gas market. The importance of natural gas cannot be understated, as it is used for he generation of electricity and heat, it is used in homes for cooking and to power boilers that provide hot water, it is used in industrial processes, and it is increasingly being used as a transportation fuel.

From the Russian perspective, Gazprom has traditionally been the dominant supplier of natural gas to the region, through a network of pipelines built in the Soviet era. But recent developments are challenging Gazprom’s monopoly position, and it is interesting to examine them.

This guest lecture considers four key developments on the Baltic regional gas market: 1) Declining demand for natural gas in the Baltic region, especially In relation to electricity generation; 2) The construction of new infrastructure that enables new supplies to be delivered to the region; 3) Regulatory changes that are increasing the commercial competitiveness of the regional gas market; 4) The outlook for gas supplies to the Baltic regional market, especially for Gazprom.

Biography

Dr Jack Sharples is a Lecturer in Energy Politics and Energy Governance at the European University of St Petersburg (ESUP). He has been the author of the monthly Gazprom Monitor reports for the European Geopolitical Forum (Brussels) since May 2012. Dr Sharples received his PhD from the University of Glasgow, UK, having written his thesis on the political economy of state-business relations in the Russian gas sector. Since then, he has published journal articles and book chapters on Gazprom’s commercial strategy in an era of climate change; the political economy of energy security in eastern Europe; energy transitions in carbon-producing countries (Russia); Russian gas transit via Ukraine; the development of cross-border gas pipeline interconnections in the EU; the importance of gas storage facilities in the European gas and power markets; the shifting geopolitics of Russia’s natural gas exports; Russian approaches to energy security and climate change; and the role of Russia in European energy security.

For more information, please visit: https://eu-spb.academia.edu/JackSharples

E-mail: jsharples@eu.spb.ru