The Oil Industry in the South of Tyumen Oblast: Enclaves or Clusters?

Regional Research of Russia. 2022. Vol. 12. No. 2. P. 113–123.

V. A. Kryukov, Tokarev A. N.

Translator: S. Avodkova

The practices of the social and economic development of the South of Tyumen oblast (STO, a federal subject—Tyumen oblast without autonomous okrugs) have provided generally successful economic growth since the mid-2000s. The build-up of the STO industry was largely associated with the extraction of hydrocarbons (primarily oil) and their processing (petrochemistry and oil refining). However, these growth drivers are losing their meaning. Today, the potential for further growth due to the expansion of hydrocarbon production and processing is close to being exhausted. The region needs to search for new sources of economic growth. These can be related to the knowledge economy and interregional ties, which includes manufacturing high-tech equipment and providing high-tech services not only for the STO but also for the oil and gas sector throughout Western Siberia. It is advisable to pursue activities in this regard within the newly established oil cluster, whose successful functioning has all the necessary prerequisites in the STO. Its generation and development must be carried out considering the peculiarities of transforming the main assets of the oil and gas sector of the Western Siberia.

Keywords: the oil industry, clusters, Enclaves