DOI: 10.12731/wsd-2014-9.1-16 UDC 338.012
FUEL AND ENERGY COMPLEX: THE SPATIAL DIMENSION
Shaldenkova T.Y.
The category of territory is an essential part of contemporary academic, as well as applied research. Economic space as a saturated territory, possessing a great number of objects and links between them, is integrating territorial and industrial subsystems of international economy. The objective of the study is the analysis of fuel and energy complex development in the context of its spatial characteristics. Our tasks are:
- to reveal the modern features of the world energy consumption;
- to find out the main factors of the energy complex location;
- to correlate the found factors with the location theories;
- to characterize the role of fuel and energy complex in functioning of the Russian economic space.
The results of the study show, that major factors, influencing spatial positioning of fuel and energy complex include allocation of the energy resources; international division of labor; geographical and commodity structure of trade; character of economic development; territorial concentration; governmental policy in the energy sphere. The up-to-date tendencies of industry location - the diminishing role of the resource factor
of the location, spatial concentration, development of clusters, industry relocation, diffusion of innovations dictate the need for reconsidering the current energy development of Russia, which may become a mechanism, organizing its irregular economic space .
Keywords: fuel and energy complex; economic space; factor of location; Spatial Development Strategy of the Russian Federation; electric power industry.
ТОПЛИВНО-ЭНЕРГЕТИЧЕСКИЙ КОМПЛЕКС: ПРОСТРАНСТВЕННОЕ ИЗМЕРЕНИЕ
Шалденкова Т.Ю.
Категория территории - неотъемлемая часть современных академических и прикладных исследований. Экономическое пространство, как насыщенная территория, включающая множество объектов и связей между ними, интегрирует территориальную и отраслевую подсистемы международной экономики. Целью исследования является анализ развития топливно-энергетического комплекса в контексте его пространственных характеристик. Нами поставлены следующие задачи:
-раскрыть современные черты мирового энергопотребления;
- выявить основные факторы размещения топливно-энергетического комплекса;
- соотнести выявленные факторы с теориями размещения;
- охарактеризовать роль топливно-энергетического комплекса в функционировании экономического пространства России.
Результаты исследования показали, что важнейшими факторами, влияющими на пространственное позиционирование топливно-энергетического комплекса, являются размещение энергетических ресурсов; международное разделение труда, географическая и товарная структура торговли; характер экономического развития; территориальная концентрация; политика правительства в сфере энергетики. Недавние тенденции размещения промышленности - снижение роли ресурсного фактора в размещении, перемещение производств, диффузия инноваций диктуют необходимость переосмысления текущего энергетического развития России, которое может стать механизмом, организующим её неравномерное экономическое пространство.
Ключевые слова: топливно-энергетический комплекс; экономическое пространство; фактор размещения; Стратегия пространственного развития Российской Федерации; электроэнергетика.
The need of including the spatial component into the economic analysis is connected with current development of the world economy. Economic space can be defined as a saturated territory, possessing a great number of objects and links between them. The conception of economic space unifies specific climatic, resource, historical characteristics of the territory with industrial capacities and infrastructure
objects situated on it, and, at last, with complicated framework of social relations functioning on the territory. Thus, economic space integrates territorial and industrial sub-systems of the world economy.
The objective of the study is the analysis of fuel and energy complex development in the context of its spatial characteristics. Our tasks are:
- to reveal the modern features of the world energy consumption;
- to find out the main factors of the energy complex location;
- to correlate the found factors with the location theories;
- to characterize the role of fuel and energy complex in functioning of the Russian economic space.
In the theoretical aspects of the study we apply to the Alfred Weber's theory of industrial location formulated, the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem, the Rybczynski theorem, Walter Christaller's Theory of central places, the August Loesh's works, the «Flying-Geese» model, the Paul Krugman's Economy of scale theory, modern theories of spatial economy, analyzing market advantages, product life cycle, diffusion of innovations, technological gap as factors of the location. The empirical base is represented with the BP Statistical Reviews of World Energy.
Contemporary world economic growth results in increasing energy consumption and expanding geography of its use. Fuel and energy complex is one of the crucial branches of industry. This complex covers fuel extraction industries (coal, oil, gas industries), electric power industry as well as transportation and distribution of fuel and electric power.
The main features of energy consumption in the first quarter of the XXI century are the following [1, p. 244]:
- The growth in energy consumption more, than in 1,5 times to 2030, 2/3 of this increase due to developing countries and China.
- Remaining predominance of the hydrocarbons in the structure of energy consumption, which can diminish in the nearest future because of hydro- and atomic energy consumption possible increasing.
- Most rapid growth of the gas consumption comparatively with the other energy resources.
- The predominance of transport sector in increase of the oil consumption.
The dynamics of primary energy consumption structure can be seen in the
Table 1
Primary energy consumption structure by the types of energy resources, %
Energy resource/year 1970 1980 1990 2002 2011* 2013*
Coal 25,32 24,04 23,85 24,43 30,34 30,0
Oil 37,97 38,46 39,23 33,46 33,06 33,0
Natural Gas 21,52 19,23 21,54 24,26 23,67 23,7
Atomic energy 0,50 2,88 3,85 6,53 4,88 4,4
Hydro energy 3,30 4,81 3,85 6,30 6,45 6,7
Other (renewables) 11,39 10,58 7,68 5,02 1,59 2,2
Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0
* calculated by the author with the data from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2012, 41; BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2014, 41.
Source: World Resources Institute. World Resources. N.-Y., 2000, 12; BP Statistical Review of World Energy. June 2003, 16; BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2012, 41; BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2014, 41.
According to the table, today oil remains the world's leading fuel, accounting 33 % of global energy consumption, but the figure is the lowest comparing to the previous years. The data in the BP Statistical Review of World Energy (2012) shows, that the yearly primary energy consumption grew only by 2,5 % in 2011[2, p.41]. Despite crises and disruptions of the period (events of the «Arab Spring», which shook energy markets; the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which had immediate implications for nuclear power and other fuels; the revolution in shale gas production, which drove US natural gas prices lower), a number of the long-term trends remained in place.
The BP Statistical Review of World Energy (2014) [3] demonstrates an acceleration in the growth of global energy consumption, despite a stagnant global economy in 2013. Energy consumption growth was below average in the non-OECD, driven by China, and above average in the mature economies of the OECD, driven by the US. However, emerging economies continue to dominate global energy demand, accounting for 80 % of growth last year and nearly 100 % of growth over the past decade. European Union's consumption continued to decline, hitting the lowest level since 1995. It is noteworthy, that the renewables now account for more than 5 % of global power output and 2,2 % of primary energy consumption [3].
Major factors, influencing spatial positioning of fuel and energy complex are the following:
1. Allocation of the energy resources (coal, oil, fuel oil, gas, hydro energy) is a significant factor of energy complex location. Alfred Weber formulated a theory of industrial location (1909) [4] in which an industry is located where the transportation costs (including fuel costs) of raw materials and final product is a minimum. He pointed out two cases. In one (weight losing case) the weight of the final product is less than the weight of the raw material incorporated into the product. In the other (weight-gaining case) the final product is heavier than the raw material that requires transport. In this the raw material is ubiquitous (everywhere available). E.g., the allocation of coal fields in many countries restrains its trade and transportation for long distances. On the contrary, the main gas fields are remote from the consumers and its implementing dictate the need of expensive infrastructure. In such situation the terms of energy transportation and distribution such as distance, transport means and transport routes can be considered as an independent factor of industry location as well as of the economic growth [5].
2. The location of the energetic sector is interconnected with the international division of labor and geography of international trade. About the half of world oil output, more than 20 % of world gas output, about 13 % of world coal output goes to export on the world market [1, pp. 245-247] The Heckscher-Ohlin theorem [6], issued by Swedish authors in 1933, states that a country will export goods that use its abundant factors intensively, and import goods that use its scarce factors intensively. E.g., Russia has the biggest proved reserves of natural gas
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