Determinants of the Russia and Asia-Pacific energy trade

Asia remained the largest energy consumer in 2020. The Russian Federation hopes to gain a greater share of the Asian energy market. This study examined the Russian Federation-Asia and Pacific energy trade patterns using gravity trade theory and GMM panel estimation for 17 selected Asia and Pacific economies. We found that the Russian Federation's energy exports to the Asia-Pacific region (APR) followed the Linder hypothesis, and economic growth positively influenced Russian energy exports in the region. Furthermore, The results indicated that the sanctions against Russia since 2014 stimulated an increase in Russian energy exports to the APR. To improve the region's energy security, we recommend developing an energy trading hub in the APR to increase regional pricing power.