Petrochemical cluster as the engine of the region’s economic development

The relevance of the analyzed problem is caused by the necessity of using the cluster approach as an alternative form of the institutional organization of the region's economy. The article aims to study the problem, requiring evidence-based decisions in matters of competitiveness of petrochemical enterprises, modernization and development of oil-producing and oil-refining industries with cluster initiatives. The leading approach to the study of this problem is to build a structural model of economic development based on the cluster mechanism. Results: systematized elements of the effect of the scientific system integration at enterprises in the petrochemical cluster; formulated provisions on the need to create clusters as a mechanism of the innovation development and building competitive advantages of the region's economy. The data of the article may be useful for state and municipal bodies and in the activities of industrial enterprises. © International Economic Society