PJSC Gazprom (ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational Energy industry headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The name is a contraction of the Russian words (газовая промышленность, gas industry). In January 2022, Gazprom displaced Sberbank from the first place in the list of the largest companies in Russia by market capitalization. In 2023, the company's revenue amounted to 8.5 trillion rubles, a significant decline from the 11.7 trillion rubles it reported in 2022.
Vertically integrated, Gazprom is active in the hydrocarbons sector, with activities including exploration and production, refining, transport, Midstream, and power generation. In 2018, Gazprom produced twelve percent of the global output of natural gas: 497.6 billion cubic meters of natural and associated gas and 15.9 million tonnes of gas condensate. Gazprom distributes gas through pipelines that the company builds and owns across Russia and abroad, such as Power of Siberia and TurkStream. In 2023 it produced 359 billion cubic meters of natural and associated gas, a decline of approximately 13 percent from the previous year.In the same year, Gazprom had proven reserves of 35.1 trillion cubic meters of gas and 1.6 billion tons of gas condensate. Gazprom is also a large Petroleum-producer through its subsidiary Gazprom Neft, producing about 41 million tons of oil with reserves amounting to 2 billion tons. The company also has subsidiaries in other industrial sectors, including Gazprombank, Gazprom-Media and Gazpromavia; and majority stakes in other companies.
Gazprom formed in 1989, when the government converted the Soviet Ministry of Gas Industry into a corporation to become the first state-run corporate enterprise in the Soviet Union.
The company is majority-owned by the Russian government, via the Federal Agency for State Property Management and Rosneftegaz, while the remaining shares are traded publicly. Gazprom is listed on the Moscow Exchange. Many arbitration cases have been decided against Gazprom.
Chernomyrdin, as Prime Minister of Russia, ensured Gazprom avoided tight state regulation. Gazprom evaded taxes, and the Government of Russia received little in . Gazprom managers and board members, such as Chernomyrdin and the Gazprom Chief Executive Officer, Rem Viakhirev, engaged in asset-stripping. Gazprom assets were shared amongst their relatives. Itera, a gas trading company, also received Gazprom assets.Goldman, p.61 In March 1998, for reasons unrelated to his activities at Gazprom, Chernomyrdin was fired by Yeltsin.Goldman, p.101 On 30 June 1998, Chernomyrdin was made chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom.
In April 2001, Gazprom acquired NTV Russia, Russia's only nationwide state-independent television station, from Vladimir Gusinsky's company, Media-Most Holdings. Gusinsky fell out of Putin's favor after using NTV to publish criticism from the families of sailors who died during the Kursk submarine disaster of August 2000 and additional criticism of Putin's handling of the Second Chechen War of 1999 to 2009. Gusinsky fled Russia in 2000, allowing Gazprom to take over NTV without his opposition.Goldman, pp.102-103
In June 2005, Gazprombank, Gazpromivest Holding, Gazfond and Gazprom Finance B. V., subsidiaries of Gazprom, sold a 10.7399% share of their stock for $7 billion to , a state-owned company. Some analysts said the amount paid by Rosneftegaz for the stock was too low. "Kremlin agrees price for Gazprom." BBC News 16 June 2005. The sale was completed by 25 December 2005, and with the purchased stock and the thirty-eight percent share held by the State Property Committee, the Government of Russia gained control of Gazprom. The Government of Russia revoked the Gazprom twenty-percent foreign-ownership rule; the company became open to foreign investment. In September 2005, Gazprom bought 72.633 percent of the oil company Sibneft for $13.01 billion. Sibneft was renamed (Gazprom Oil). The purchase was aided by a $12 billion loan. Gazprom became Russia's largest company.Yenikeyeff, Shamil, "BP, Russian billionaires, and the Kremlin: a Power Triangle that never was" , Oxford Energy Comment, 23 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011. On the day of the deal the company worth was valued at Pound sterling69.7 billion (US$123.2 billion).
In July 2006 Russia's State Duma passed the law On Gas Export with a nearly unanimous vote. This law gave Gazprom the exclusive right to export natural gas from Russia. Neil Buckley and Tobias Buck, "Duma votes for Russian gas export monopoly" , The Financial Times, 16 June 2006. "Duma approves Gazprom export bill", BBC News, 5 July 2006.[5] In December 2006, Gazprom signed an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi, to take over fifty percent plus one share of Sakhalin Energy.
The Gazprom corporate slogan of 2006: "Dreams Come True" ()
In June 2007, TNK-BP, a subsidiary of BP plc, agreed to sell its stake in the Kovykta field in Siberia to Gazprom after the Government of Russia questioned BP's right to export gas from Russia."BP Set to Leave Russia Gas Project", by Guy Chazan and Gregory L. White, The Wall Street Journal, 23 June 2007 p. A3
On 1 August 2007, Gazprom's Sergey Kuprianov threatened to stop supplying Belarus with Gazprom gas if Minsk failed to pay off its debts, and if so, it would experience a 300% price-increase. Two days later, Kuprianov saw significant progress towards payment, and expected to be paid by the following week.
On 23 June 2007, the governments of Russia and Italy signed a memorandum of understanding towards a joint venture between Gazprom and Eni SpA to construct a 558-mile (900 km) gas pipeline to carry gas per year from Russia to Europe. This South Stream pipeline would extend under the Black Sea to Bulgaria with a south fork to Italy and a north fork to Hungary."Gazprom Pipeline Plan May Fuel Worry" by Gabriel Kahn, The Wall Street Journal, 25 June 2007, p. A11 "Gazprom, Eni plan big gas pipeline bypassing Turkey." Reuters 23 June 2007. Accessed 26 June 2007. "Eni and Gazprom sign the agreement for the South Stream Project." Eni.it, 23 June 2007. Accessed 26 June 2007.
On 18 December 2007, Frank-Walter Steinmeier (then Foreign Minister of Germany) and Dmitry Medvedev (then First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia) signed an agreement on behalf of BASF to exploit another gas field. At the time, German demand was 40% covered by Russian supply. Some German academics warned that Germany had become too dependent on Russia, but Steinmeier, citing the new Ostpolitik, disregarded them.
On 11 February 2008, Kuprianov threatened Ukraine with a halt to supply; in January 2009, the threat was carried out, marking the beginning of the 2009 Russia–Ukraine gas dispute. BASF's expressed concern about the reliability of his firm's supply, but Miller assuaged his worries in a phone call, and the Europeans did nothing to change course for more than a decade.
On 1 December 2014, during a visit to Turkey, Putin said the South Stream project would not proceed and that Russia would ship 63 billion cubic metres per year (bcm/y) of gas to Turkey instead of to Bulgaria. Bulgaria was being sued by the European Union for signing a contract with Russia which was not aligned with European Union regulations. The president of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev, pressured the European Union and Russia to resolve the matter quickly.
On 21 May 2014, in Shanghai, Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation made a contract worth $400 billion over thirty years. The contract was for Gazprom to deliver 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to China beginning in 2018. In August 2014, construction began with pipes for the Power of Siberia pipeline delivered to Lensk, Yakutia. Russia will start supplying natural gas to China through the Power of Siberia pipeline on 20 December 2019 as part of the two countries' $400 billion energy pact. Beijing and Moscow are now negotiating over a second Far Eastern gas pipeline.
In June 2014, Gazprom negotiated with the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC of Abu Dhabi) over a 24.9 percent stake in the oil and gas firm OMV. In July 2014, Gazprom acquired Central Partnership, one of the largest film distributors in Russia.
In September 2015, the Nord Stream 2 contracts were signed, and by July 2021, the pipeline was commissioned.
The majority of Gazprom's fields are located in the Nadym-Pur-Taz region (near the Gulf of Ob) in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Western Siberia. Historically, the three largest fields are Medvezhe, Urengoy and Yamburg.Söderbergh, B., Jakobsson, K., Aleklett, K., 2010. European energy security: an analysis of future Russian natural gas production and exports. Energy Policy 38 (12), 7827–7843. After more than twenty years of production, the fields are now in decline. Production from the fields has decreased by twenty to twenty-five bcm per year. The production at Zaporliarnoe, Gazprom's fourth largest field, increased until 2004, offsetting the decline in the other fields. Since 2004, Gazprom has maintained production by activating new smaller fields and by purchasing production assets from other companies.
Gazprom Neft produces crude oil. In 2005, Gazprom purchased 75 percent of the Gazprom Neft shares for $13.1 billion.
Gazprom carries out prospecting and exploration in foreign countries such as India, Pakistan, Algeria, Venezuela, Vietnam, Libya, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
In March 2021, the Russian Government authorised a long-term programme to develop and expand the liquefied natural gas industry in Russia with nine more LNG plants, to address the growing global LNG market.
In August 2021 Russia's first LNG bunkering vessel, Dmitry Mendeleev, was completed for Gazprom.
In October 2021, Gazprom and RusGazDobycha announced they would build a new plant, Baltic LNG, at Ust-Luga, with access to the Baltic Sea for sea transportation westward. It would process ethane-containing natural gas with a capacity of 13 million tons of LNG per year.
In 2024, Gazprom faced a significant shortage of LNG tankers, leading the company to use the Marshal Vasilevskiy floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for exporting LNG from its Portovaya facility. This shortage occurred because Gazprom's regular tankers, such as the Pskov, were involved in extended voyages to Asia, avoiding the Suez Canal and Red Sea due to security threats from Houthi attacks.
Since 2000, Natural gas prices have fluctuated. In late 2007, the price of natural gas at the New York NYMEX was . At a conversion of 26,4 m3 per million Btu, it would correspond to a price of $285 per 1,000 . At the same time, based on their respective contracts with Gazprom, German customers paid $250 per cubic metre (m3), Polish customers $290 per m3, Ukraine customers $130 per m3 and Russian customers $49 per m3.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and as a result of falling export revenue, the domestic market is expected to see price rises of 34% by July 2025.
In 2014, Europe accounted for 40% of Gazprom's revenue. The proportion of Europe's gas bought in the spot market rose from 15 percent in 2008 to 44 percent in 2012."Paying the piper." The Economist 4 January 2014.
In September 2013, during the G20 summit, Gazprom signed an agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) that the Henry Hub index would not be used to settle prices for their trades. In May 2014, Russian president Vladimir Putin met with General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping and negotiated a $400bn deal between the Gazprom and the CNPC. Under the contract, Russia was to supply 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually over 30 years for $350 per thousand cubic meters beginning in 2018. In 2013, the average price of Gazprom's gas in Europe was about $380 per thousand cubic meters. China offered a loan of about $50bn to finance the development of the gas fields and the construction of the pipeline by Russia up to the Chinese border, with the Chinese to build the remaining pipeline.
In January 2023, as a result of the sanctions imposed on Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Gazprom announced that its gas exports had fallen 45% from 185 billion cubic meters (Bcm) to 101 Bcm, mainly due to the loss of the European market. During 2023 exports fell again, with Europe purchasing just 28Bcm, a level not seen since the 1970s.
In December 2025, it was announced that Turkey finalized a one-year extension of its expiring gas import contracts with Russia that total 22 Bcm. When asked about the short-term contract, Turkish Energy Minister Bayraktar stated: "They will continue to be supplied by Gazprom next year. But we are focusing on more like short term... like one year".
On 3 April 2006, Gazprom announced it would triple the price of natural gas to Belarus after 31 December 2006. In December 2006, Gazprom threatened to cease supply of gas to Belarus at 10 am Moscow time on 1 January 2007, unless Belarus increased payments from $47 to $200 per 1,000 cubic metres or to cede control over its distribution network. Russian gas demands irk Belarus, BBC News, 18 December 2006. Some analysts suggested Moscow was penalising Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, for not delivering on pledges of closer integration with Russia,[9] while others noted that other countries like Armenia were paying as much for their gas as Belarus would with the new price levels.
Gazprom later requested a price of $105, Belarus-Gazprom Gas Talks Reach Impasse by Steve Gutterman, The Washington Post, 26 December 2006 yet Belarus still refused the agreement. Belarus responded that if supplies were cut, it would deny Gazprom access to its pipelines, which would impair gas transportation to Europe. Belarus gas row 'may hurt Europe' , BBC News, 27 December 2006 However, on 1 January 2007, just a few hours before the deadline, Belarus and Gazprom signed a last-minute agreement. Under the agreement, Belarus undertook to pay $100 per 1,000 cubic metres in 2007. The agreement also allowed Gazprom to purchase 50 percent of the shares in Beltransgaz, the Belarusian pipeline network.[12] Immediately following the signing of this agreement, Belarus declared a $42/ton transportation tax on Russian oil traveling through the Gazprom pipelines crossing its territory.
On 13 March 2008, after a three-day period during which gas supplies to Ukraine were halved, Gazprom agreed to supply Ukraine with gas for the remainder of the year. The contract removed intermediary companies.
On 1 April 2014, Gazprom increased the gas price charged to Ukraine from $268.50 to $385.50 (£231.00) per 1,000 cubic metres. Ukraine's unpaid gas bills to Russia stood at $1.7bn (£1.02bn). On 30 October 2014, Russia agreed to resume gas supplies to Ukraine over the winter in a deal brokered by the European Union.
At the end of 2008, Gazprom had 221,300 employees across its major subsidiaries involved in gas production, transportation, underground storage, and processing. Of these employees, 9.5 percent were in management, 22.9 percent were specialists, 63.4 percent were workers and 4.2 percent were other employees. Gazprom's headquarters were in the Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow until 2021, when they moved to the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg.
Gazprom is a national champion, a concept advocated by Putin, in which large companies in strategic sectors are expected not only to seek profit, but also to advance Russia's national interests. For example, Gazprom sells gas to its domestic market at a price less than that of the global market. In 2008, Gazprom's activities made up 10 percent of the Russian gross domestic product
Due to its large-scale projects, including international pipelines like Nord Stream 1 and Turkish Stream, Gazprom was once a substantial source of revenue for several domestic suppliers and contractors.
Gazprom is listed on the stock markets of Moscow Exchange and Karachi. It is the top component of the MICEX and RTS Index indices. Gazprom used to be listed on the London, Berlin, Frankfurt and Singapore markets before the 2022 sanctions.
Gazprom's management committee as of December 2006:
On 1 January 2007, Gazprom became the sponsor of the German Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 at a cost of up to €25 million per year. On 23 November 2009, the partnership was extended for a further five years. Schalke then suspended their sponsorship of Gazprom after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The sponsorship was worth $150m (USD) over five years.
On 9 July 2010, Gazprom became a sponsor of the Serbian SuperLiga football club Red Star Belgrade. In 2010, Gazprom was a Gold Partner of the Russian professional cycling team, Team Katusha, together with Itera, and Russian Technologies (Rostekhnologii).
On 17 July 2012, Gazprom became the official Global Energy partner of the UEFA Champions League 2012 winners Chelsea. The sponsorship continued for three years until 2015.
In September 2013, Gazprom became an official partner of FIFA tournaments from 2015 to 2018. The contract included the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Gazprom was also a sponsor for the defunct-Minardi team in 2002–2003.
In April 2021, Gazprom became a sponsor of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA, now the International Boxing Association) as "general partner". The sponsorship became controversial due to the IBA's increased Russian ties under president Umar Kremlev. This partnership ended in 2023.
On 9 July 2012, Gazprom became a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup. The sponsorship continued for three seasons until 2015. In 2021, the partnership was also extended until 2024. The company was also set to serve as the global partner for UEFA Euro 2020 and 2024; however, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gazprom's sponsorship for the Champions League and Euro 2024 was voided, marking the end of their 10-year partnership with UEFA.
In the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gazprom had issues with many EU countries, and stated it would cut off supplies to French energy supplier, Engie, over failure to pay in full for deliveries. This was disputed, with France's Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher stating, "Very clearly Russia is using gas as a weapon of war and we must prepare for the worst case scenario of a complete interruption of supplies."
The bailiffs froze Yukos' shares in Yuganskneftegaz and on 19 November 2004, they placed a notice in the Russian government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Yuganskneftegaz would be sold at an auction thirty days later on 19 December 2004. The conditions for participation in the auction included an advance deposit of US$1.7 bn and prior clearance by the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service. In early December 2004, Gazprom applied to participate in the auction via its wholly owned subsidiary, Gazpromneft.
On 15 December 2004, Yukos filed for bankruptcy protection in a Houston court and obtained a temporary injunction prohibiting Gazprom from participating in the auction. On 16 December 2004, a group of Western banks withdrew their financial support for Gazprom's application. On the same day, Baikalfinansgrup, a previously unknown company, submitted an application to participate in the auction.
On 19 December 2004, only two companies appeared at the auction, Gazpromneft and Baikalfinansgrup. Gazpromneft declined to place any offer. Baikalfinansgrup acquired Yuganskneftegaz on its first bid. On 23 December 2004, Baikalfinansgrup was acquired by Rosneft. Rosneft later disclosed in its annual financial statement that it had financed the acquisition of Yuganskneftegaz. At the time, Sergey Bogdanchikov was the president of Rosneft and the chief executive officer of Gazpromneft.
Shortly after the auction, the planned merger between Gazprom and Rosneft was abandoned, and Bogdanchikov resigned as Chief Executive Officer of Gazpromneft.
On 7 February 2006, in response to a question by a Spanish journalist, Vladimir Putin disclosed that Rosneft had used Baikalfinansgrup as a vehicle to acquire Yuganskneftegaz to protect itself against litigation.
In 2018, Gazprom agreed to a settlement that involved dropping all contractual barriers to the free flow of gas in Central and Eastern European gas markets and taking various steps to improve economic cooperation. Customers would be given an explicit contractual right to trigger a price review when prices paid diverged from competitive price benchmarks, and be allowed more frequent and efficient price reviews. Gazprom agreed not to seek any damages from its partners following the termination of the South Stream project. Had the case gone to court, the company could have been forced to pay fines of up to $12 billion.
In 2020, Gazprom agreed to reimburse Poland's PGNiG close to $1.5 billion for years of compelling it to overpay for its gas supply.
On 26 September 2022, a severe drop in pressure in both NS1 and NS2 was associated with a rupture in both pipes due to sabotage.
In August 2012, Greenpeace staged protests against the Prirazlomnaya oil platform, the world's first offshore Arctic drill site. On 18 September 2013, the Greenpeace vessel MV Arctic Sunrise staged a protest and attempted to board Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya oil platform. Greenpeace stated that the drill site could cause massive disruption to the Arctic ecosystem. After arresting two campaigners attempting to climb the rig, the Russian Coast Guard seized control of the Greenpeace ship by dropping down from a helicopter and arresting thirty Greenpeace activists. Arctic Sunrise was towed by the Russian Coast Guard to Murmansk.
The Russian government intended to charge the Greenpeace campaigners with piracy and hooliganism, which carried a maximum penalty of fifteen years imprisonment. Greenpeace argued their operatives were in international waters. The Russian government's actions generated protests from governments and environmentalists worldwide. According to Phil Radford, Executive Director of Greenpeace in the United States at the time, the reaction of the Russian Coast Guard and the courts were the "stiffest response that Greenpeace has encountered from a government since the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in 1985." The charges of piracy were dropped in October 2013. In November 2013, 27 of the 30 activists were released on bail.
In May 2014, the first shipment of Arctic oil arrived at a refinery in the Netherlands and was purchased by the French company, TotalEnergies.
The episode is portrayed in the 3-hour television documentary On Thin Ice: Putin v Greenpeace.
In April 2018, the United States placed Alexey Miller among the Specially Designated Nationals. This sanction bars U.S. individuals and entities from having any dealings with him. Entities outside the U.S. jurisdiction may also face punishment if the U.S. government deems they are aiding a sanctioned entity. Miller himself claimed to be proud of the sanction: "Not being included in the first list I even had some doubts – may be something is wrong (with me)? But I am finally included. This means that we are doing everything right," Miller said through his spokesman.
In December 2019, the U.S. sanctioned firms involved in the Nord Stream 2 project.
On 24 February 2022, upon the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. expanded penalties on Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of Gazprom, and sanctioned its CEO Matthias Warnig. It also expanded debt and equity prohibitions against Gazprombank, Gazprom, and Gazprom Neft. In addition, following the invasion, in March 2022 the European Union formally approved a ban on investments in the Russian energy sector, including Gazprom Neft.
The UK banned Gazprom from its debt and equity markets on 2 March 2022, sanctioned Gazprombank on 24 March 2022, and Gazprom board members on 1 March 2023. Gazprom Energy, a UK firm, stated that "supplies 20.8% of non-domestic gas volume in Great Britain. We source our gas through commodity exchanges in exactly the same way as our competitors and we do not depend on gas supplies from Russia."
On 18 July 2022, amid the Nord Stream 1 maintenance period, Gazprom sent a letter declaring force majeure, claiming that due to extraordinary circumstances it could not guarantee a gas supply. On 26 September 2022, a rupture occurred in both pipes due to sabotage.
In the first half of 2022, Gazprom reported high profits, roughly equal to the profit for the whole of 2021, due to high prices. In the second half of 2022 and into 2023, Gazprom likely did not make a profit at all due to falling exports. Overall, Gazprom made a profit of 1.226 trillion roubles ($15.77 billion) in 2022, down 40%, after an extra tax was levied in late 2022.
On 19 December 2022 the European Energy ministers agreed on a price cap for natural Gas at €180 per megawatt-hour aiming to stop Russia forcing European gas prices upwards.
Exports of gas by Gazprom from Russia in 2021 was 185Bcm, in 2022 it fell by 45% to 100Bcm and in 2023 it fell again to 62Bcm.
Arbitration cases through the International Court of Arbitration have been started by many western companies with long term contracts, for damages due to short supply or cessation of supplies in breach of Gazprom's contractual obligations, including Germany's Uniper, who is claiming €11.6 billion compensation from Gazprom and Engie which opened proceedings in February 2023 for short delivery,
Gazprom went to arbitration for €300m for unpaid gas from Gasum in Finland, which the arbitration decided was payable, but not in rubles.
India's GAIL is also seeking compensation through a London arbitration court over Gazprom's short delivery of LNG to India, which was disrupted by sanctions against a Gazprom subsidiary in Germany.
Continual rise
Loss of EU revenue
Supply and reserves
Production
Imports from Central Asia
Reserves
Natural gas 20.90 20.66 20.73 20.84 21.28 21.95 22.52 22.84 23.26 23.71 34.89 30.22 Source: Gazprom in figures 2004–2008, 2007–2011 and 2009–2013. 2019 2021
Development and exploration
Blue Stream Pipeline
Yamal Peninsula
Shtokman field
Khanty-Mansiysk autonomous area (Arctic shelf)
Exploration
Transportation
Liquefied Natural Gas
Sales
Exports
Price disputes
Corporate affairs
Shareholders
Subsidiaries
Management
Sports sponsorships
Environmental record
Controversies
Geopolitical leverage
Yukos Oil fraud
Antitrust
Methane leaks
Nord Stream pipelines
Greenpeace protest against Arctic drilling
Sanctions
In 2022, due to economic sanctions, Gazprom took the unprecedented step of suspending dividends for the first time since 1998.
Private army
Reducing and ceasing supplies to gas companies
See also
Sources
External links
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