Oil Production networks in the Russian Arctic: societal impacts and potential for partnership

The project focuses on global production networks (GPNs) that shape the interaction among oil companies, indigenous peoples, state administration and other actors in the Russian Arctic. It will define how these networks could be constructed to ensure the coexistence of profitable industries and sustainable indigenous communities.
The hypothesis is that in the absence of appropriate national regulation in Russian, global standards that regulate oil production networks can assist in protecting the rights of local inhabitants and developing democratic decisions-making processes in natural resources management. We aim to investigate how national legislation and the local/national context influence the adoption and implementation of global standards and financial flows toward indigenous communities. Using sociological and legal studies methods the project will identify the best benefit sharing practices of the oil companies toward indigenous communities and will communicate results to Arctic policy makers