The 5 Biggest Russian Natural Gas Companies

Natural gas companies are a crucial part of Russia's economy. The energy sector is staple of the investing world, and it comprises at least 10% of Russia's GDP and about 50% of its revenue. The country has some of the largest multinational oil and gas companies in the world because it also has some of the largest currently known reserves. The following are five of the largest Russian oil and gas companies that help fuel both Russia's economy and the world's.

Gazprom (MCX: GAZP.ME) is the world's largest natural gas company. It is a majority government-owned company focused on geological exploration within Russia, as well as production, transmission, storage, processing and marketing of natural gas and other hydrocarbons.

Gazprom's mission is to provide Russian customers with an effective and well-balanced gas supply and to implement long-term gas contracts that export natural gas from within Russia to other countries. As of 2018, it owns the largest natural gas reserves in the world.

Novatek (MCX: NVTK.ME) is Russia's largest independent natural gas producer and is the second-largest natural gas producer in Russia behind Gazprom. The company engages in the exploration, production and processing of natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons.

Novatek had roughly 15.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) of proven natural gas reserves as of year-end 2017.

Rosneft (MCX: ROSN) is the overall leader of Russia's petroleum industry and is among the world’s top publicly traded oil and gas companies. The company explores, extracts, and produces petroleum products and petrochemicals, but is also involved in natural gas exploration and production. Rosneft is included in the Russian government’s List of Strategic Enterprises and Organizations, and the government holds over 50% stake in the company.

PJSC Lukoil Oil Company (MCX: LKOH) is a Russian company that was originally government-controlled but is now Russia's largest company not controlled by the state and second-largest company overall, after Gazprom, as of 2018. Its main operations encompass the exploration and production of petroleum products and natural gas.

While it specializes in, and was founded for, exploration and production in western Siberia – where the majority of the company's oil and gas reserves are located – Lukoil is a major player in the energy industry worldwide. 

Surgutneftegas is a Russian oil and gas company that formed by merging several former government-owned companies. Its main interests are petroleum, natural gas and petroleum products, and worldwide exports, though especially to Belarus. It employs almost 100,000 people and had revenue of $18.2 billion in 2016, which made it Russia's eighth-largest company.