Russian gas .. the largest reserves in the world Encyclopedia

Russia is the largest gas exporter in the world, and it has the largest reserves of it, and it is also the second largest gas producer after the United States of America, with about 48 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, which has become its strategic weapon to achieve its economic and geopolitical goals.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian gas had a fundamental role in supporting the country’s economy, which was dependent on its export through a network of pipelines that pass through Ukraine to Europe, but the situation witnessed a major change after the straining of Russian -Ukrainian relations in 2014, and the crossing of Russian gas has become an international dispute.

The importance of Russian gas

Reserves: The importance of Russian gas stems from Russia’s first site in terms of world-affirmed gas reserves, and it is about 1680 trillion feet, and it is equivalent to 102.3 times its annual consumption, and its share constitutes 25% of the total global reserves, and most of its reserves are located in Western Siberia and Volga-Ural provinces, and its system for transporting the largest local gas globally is.

Consumption: In 2022, Russian gas constituted the largest energy source in Russia, by 52%, the largest local energy production sources, with 39%, and the main source of electricity generation locally by 45%.

Despite the great local consumption of gas, it remains less than production, allowing Russia to export.

Production and export: Russia’s gas production reached 666.7 billion cubic meters in 2024, while gas exports in the same year increased by 7% (108 billion cubic meters) for pipeline exports, by 14% (38 million tons) for LNG exports.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxuf6x1x7i

The most prominent Russian gas fields

• Orngwi field: The second largest natural gas field in the world and its annual production is 10.9 trillion cubic meters, known as the Orngui-Gas and condensate field. With more than one trillion cubic meter.
• Yamburg field: The third largest natural gas field in the world, and its production is 8.2 trillion cubic meters, and is located in the West Siberia basin in Yamalo-Ninitz self-government in Oblist Tyumin. He was discovered in 1969, began production in 1986, managed by Gazprom, and its reserves are estimated at 1.2 billion tons.
• Bovaninkovo ​​field: The largest field in the Yamal Peninsula in terms of discovered gas reserves, and is part of the “Yamal giant” project. It is located in the autonomous Yamalo-Ninitz region, and its annual production is 4.9 trillion cubic meters. Discover in 1972 and began its production in 2012.
• The Stockmann field: It is located in the central part of the Russian sector in the Barents Sea, and its annual production is 3.9 trillion cubic meters and was discovered in 1988, and Gazprom, Total and Steuts began its development agreement in 2008, and its discovered reserves were estimated at 3.9 trillion cubic meters.
• Zabolianoa field: It is located in the southern part of the Taz region within the Yamalu-Ninitz region, and is part of the West Siberia region, and its annual production is 3.5 trillion cubic meters. He was discovered in 1965, production began in 2001, and its production capacity is 130 billion cubic meters annually. It is owned by Gazprom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8l7f25tnu4

The most prominent cross -border Russian gas pipelines

The length of the main gas pipelines on Russian soil is 171.2 thousand kilometers. However, expanding the volume of gas supplies and sales across these lines to the global market is increasingly difficult due to the successive Western sanctions, and among the most prominent of these transit lines:

• Siberia’s power: The Russian main gas pipeline for Yaqutia gas supplies to the province of Bremorsky and the countries of Asia and the Pacific region. It is a joint project between Gazprom and the Chinese National Oil Company, and represents cooperation with China Through it, it is a basic pillar of Russia’s strategy in the face of European isolation.

• “Leave Stream”: It directly links the gas transportation system in Türkiye with the largest gas reserves in Russia, and ensures reliable energy supplies to Anatolia and southeast Europe.
• Nord Stream: A road to export Russian gas to Europe, and the main markets targeted by Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, France and Denmark. He went out of service as a result of his targeting with 4 bombings in September 2022, and it is believed that it was the result of a deliberate act with the aim of sabotage.
• Yamal-Europe: The main pipeline for exporting gas across the border. It was operated in 1999 with the aim of bypassing Ukraine. The gas fields in the northwest of Siberia link with consumers in Europe. Later, it became an additional export corridor, which increased the flexibility and reliability of Russian gas supplies to Western Europe.
  On January 1, 2025, and after the end of the contract between the Russian “Gazprom” and the Ukrainian “Naftogaz”, Russian gas supplies stopped to the European Union via Ukraine.
• Blue Stream: A marine pipeline designed to transport Russian natural gas directly to Türkiye through the bottom of the Black Sea, without crossing the lands of any third country. This line is a strategic alternative that enhances supplies to Türkiye, along with the Balkan wild pipeline that passes through Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria.
  The importance of this line is highlighted to transfer it more than 50% of Russia’s total exports of natural gas to the Turkish market.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=str8VCWCBCS

The most prominent countries importing Russian gas

Before the Russian war erupted on Ukraine in February 2022, more than 40% of the natural gas imported to Europe came from Russia and is pumped through 4 main pipelines. Some European countries relied on Russia in more than 80% of its gas supplies, including Austria and Latvia.

But then, unprecedented transformations took place in the trade of Russian natural gas due to the war and European sanctions, prompting Moscow to take steps to restore the levels of export of gas before the crisis through the transformation strategy to Asia and diversify the customer base.

However, according to Russian official data for the year 2024, France was the most prominent buyer of Russian gas, an increase of 30% in the first eight months of 2023 to 1.9 billion euros.

Hungary comes second, although it reduced its imports and amounted to 1.6 billion euros, and Spain in third place with purchases of 1.4 billion euros, while Türkiye ranked fourth with an increase of 29%, followed by China by 26%.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjmo5-ydr1o

Western sanctions on Russia

On January 10, 2025, the administration of US President Joe Biden announced an unprecedented package of sanctions targeting the oil and gas sectors in Russia, described as the broader since the prohibition began and setting a ceiling for prices on Russian energy exports in 2022.

Western sanctions, which came in response to the Russian war on Ukraine in 2022, included restrictions on the Russian energy sector, and a ban on oil and its derivatives.

One of the most prominent elements of these sanctions is the inclusion of medium -sized liquefied natural gas stations in the Baltic Sea within the sanctions lists, which was considered a qualitative step in escalating economic pressure on Moscow.

According to the estimates of Russian analysts, these restrictions are expected to exacerbate the decline in oil, coal and liquefied gas exports, and additional losses to the Russian treasury, and increase the weakness of the ruble.

They believe that Moscow is obliged to deal with these penalties seriously, especially after targeting the “Gazprom Oil” and “Surgutnvate Gas” companies in their full activities, including refining and related services.

Since the launch of Western sanctions, Russia has suffered from difficulties in obtaining advanced Western technology to develop its energy industries, prompting it to rely on local technologies and enhance its cooperation with China and India.

In this context, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak stated that these sanctions motivated Russia to enhance its self -sufficiency and develop its capabilities in the areas of exploration, production and export.

Western restrictions also led to a major shift in Russia’s commercial trend towards Asia, with increasing dependence on marine shipments due to poor railway infrastructure and pipelines in the eastern direction.

As a result, crude oil exports and condensate sacred to the Asian market increased by 57% in 2023 compared to 2022.