Natural gas export value from Russia 2000-2020

In 2020, Russia exported under 25.3 billion U.S. dollars' worth of natural gas to other countries worldwide, marking a decrease by approximately 39 percent compared to the previous year. The highest natural gas export value over the observed period was recorded at 69.11 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.

Gazprom's monopoly in Russian gas export

Gazprom is a Russian energy corporation established in 1989 and co-owned by the government. The company has the monopoly on the country's gas export market through a clause in the Federal Tax Code, thus limiting access of domestic competitors, such as Rosneft and Novatek, to international markets. The leading gas company in Russia, Gazprom is also the global leader in gas production by output, measured at nearly 35 billion cubic feet daily in 2019. Besides exploration and production, the company is engaged in marketing, transportation, distribution, and other supply chain components. In 2019, Gazprom accounted for nearly 12 percent of the world's natural gas output. The company is an example of a national champion, as the corporation advances Russia's interests and accounts for over five percent of the country's GDP.

Gas exports from Russia to China

Russian gas exports to non-CIS countries, including China, saw an increase in recent years. In May 2014, Russia signed a 400 billion U.S. dollars contract with China, the biggest natural gas deal since the collapse of the USSR. Under the contract, Gazprom was to annually supply 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas for over 30 years at a cost of 350 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic meters. In 2019, Gazprom commenced the first pipeline gas supplies to China via the pipeline Power of Siberia. In total, Gazprom reported having sold 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China in that year. Furthermore, the company planned the construction of Power of Siberia 2.