What Is Gazprom? Ownership, Pipelines and Production
Last updated: October 23, 2026
Gazprom is Russia’s state-controlled natural gas producer and the owner of the world’s largest gas pipeline network. It holds a legal monopoly on Russian pipeline gas exports, the biggest proven natural gas reserves of any company on earth, and a history that stretches back to the final years of the Soviet Union. Since 2022, Gazprom’s business has been reshaped by the loss of most of its European market, forcing a pivot toward China and a first annual net loss in more than two decades.
What Is Gazprom?
Gazprom PJSC (Public Joint Stock Company Gazprom) is Russia’s largest company by revenue and the operator of the Unified Gas Supply System, the pipeline grid that carries gas across Russia and to export markets. It is majority-owned by the Russian state and holds the exclusive legal right under Russian law to export pipeline gas, a monopoly it has held since the early 2000s. Gazprom’s upstream gas production is concentrated in giant Siberian fields such as Urengoy, Yamburg and the newer Kovyktinskoye field, which came online for commercial production in February 2026. Through its majority-owned subsidiary Gazprom Neft, the group also has a significant oil business, and it holds stakes in electricity generation through Gazprom Energoholding.
Ownership
Gazprom discloses that the Russian state controls a stake of just over 50% of the company, split across several state entities. As of the company’s most recent disclosure, the Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo) directly holds 38.373% of issued shares, while a further 11.859% sits with two other state-controlled holders, Rosneftegaz and Rosgazifikatsiya. The remainder trades publicly on the Moscow Exchange under the ticker GAZP.
| Shareholder | Stake | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo) | 38.37% | Direct state ownership |
| Rosneftegaz | ~10.97% | State-controlled holding company |
| Rosgazifikatsiya | ~0.89% | State-controlled holding company |
| Free float and other shareholders | ~49.77% | Publicly traded (Moscow Exchange: GAZP) |
Shareholder breakdown as disclosed by Gazprom; figures as of its most recent public filing. Source: Gazprom corporate disclosure; Statista.
Leadership
Alexey Miller has chaired Gazprom’s management committee since 2001, making him one of the longest-serving CEOs of any major global energy company. His board reconfirmed him for a further term in early 2026. Miller reports to a board of directors chaired, as of the most recent appointments, by a senior figure drawn from the Russian state apparatus, reflecting the company’s role as an arm of state energy policy as much as a commercial enterprise.
History
Gazprom traces its origin to 1989, when the Soviet Ministry of Gas Industry was converted into a state concern, Gazprom, making it one of the first state enterprises to be corporatized before the USSR’s collapse. It was reorganized as a joint-stock company, RAO Gazprom, in 1993 and partially privatized during the 1990s. Through the early 2000s, under President Vladimir Putin, the state reasserted direct and indirect majority control over the company and granted it a legal monopoly on pipeline gas exports. Gazprom moved its headquarters from Moscow to the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg, Europe’s tallest building, in 2021.
Main Business
Gazprom’s core business is the exploration, production, transport and sale of natural gas, both domestically within Russia and for export via pipeline and, through group companies, as LNG. It also sells gas condensate and, through Gazprom Neft, crude oil and refined products. Domestically, Gazprom supplies a large share of Russian households and industry through regulated tariffs, a role that makes it central to Russian energy and social policy as well as export revenue.
Production and Capacity
Gazprom reported gas extraction of 416.19 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2024, of which 355.23 bcm was sold on domestic and export markets, leaving roughly 60 bcm unsold. In the first half of 2025, group output rose slightly year on year to 209.48 bcm, while sales of 185 bcm were marginally below the same period in 2024. Gazprom holds the world’s largest reported proven natural gas reserves among producers, cited by the company at roughly 35.1 trillion cubic meters as of its most recent reserve audit, alongside substantial gas condensate reserves.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas extraction | 416.19 bcm | Full-year 2024 | Gazprom / Interfax |
| Gas extraction | 209.48 bcm | H1 2025 | Gazprom |
| Exports to China (Power of Siberia) | 38.8 bcm | Full-year 2025 | Gazprom |
| Exports to Europe (all routes) | ~18 bcm | Full-year 2025 | Reuters calculations |
| Proven gas reserves | ~35.1 trillion cubic meters | Latest company audit | Gazprom corporate disclosure |
Major Assets and Pipelines
Gazprom’s pipeline network, the Unified Gas Supply System, is the largest in the world. Its most consequential export routes have shifted sharply since 2022:
- Nord Stream 1 — the undersea Baltic pipeline to Germany, which Russia stopped flows through from August 31, 2022; the pipeline was then damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022 whose responsibility has not been formally established, though Western reporting has pointed to Ukraine, which denies involvement.
- TurkStream — the subsea pipeline to Turkey, now Gazprom’s only remaining route for exports to Europe after Ukrainian transit ended. Full-year 2025 exports to Europe across all routes fell to roughly 18 bcm, the lowest level since the mid-1970s.
- Power of Siberia — the pipeline to China, which delivered 38.8 bcm in 2025, about 2% above its contracted volume, and is being expanded toward 44 bcm per year.
- Power of Siberia 2 — a proposed pipeline via Mongolia with a planned capacity of up to 50 bcm per year to northern China; as of 2026 the project had not reached a final investment decision, with analysts estimating a decade or more before it would meaningfully boost exports.
- Yamal–Europe — the pipeline via Belarus and Poland, suspended in 2022 amid a sanctions dispute with the pipeline’s Polish co-owner.
Ukrainian pipeline transit of Russian gas to Europe, once a major route, ended entirely on January 1, 2025, when Kyiv declined to renew its five-year transit agreement with Moscow.
Countries
Gazprom’s production and reserves are overwhelmingly Russian, centered on West Siberian fields. Its customer base has shifted decisively since 2022, from a European-dominated export market toward China and, to a lesser extent, Turkey. Gazprom has also pursued LNG and pipeline interests in Central Asia and has historically supplied gas to several former Soviet states and Balkan countries, including supply arrangements with Turkey, where it remains a significant supplier via TurkStream.
Major Projects
The Kovyktinskoye field in East Siberia, one of the world’s largest gas fields, began commercial production in February 2026 and is intended to feed the Power of Siberia pipeline alongside the existing Chayandinskoye field. Gazprom has also pursued a far-eastern pipeline route to China, planned to start exports at the end of January 2027 with an initial capacity of 10–12 bcm per year. The proposed Power of Siberia 2 line through Mongolia remains the company’s largest unrealized growth project, contingent on a final commercial agreement with China.
Subsidiaries
Gazprom Neft is the group’s oil-focused subsidiary, covering upstream oil production, refining and fuel retail. Gazprom Energoholding is its electricity generation arm. The parent group also holds LNG interests and a domestic gas distribution network supplying Russian households and industry under regulated tariffs.
Recent Developments
Gazprom booked a net loss of 629 billion rubles (around $6.9 billion) under IFRS for 2023, its first annual loss in more than two decades, as revenue fell to 8.5 trillion rubles from 11.7 trillion rubles in 2022 following the collapse of its European export business. Under Russian accounting standards, the company reported a full-year 2024 net loss of roughly 1.08 trillion rubles, which reporting attributed in large part to a fall in the market value of its Gazprom Neft stake; audited IFRS figures for 2024 were not fully available through public reporting as of this writing. Russia’s overall gas production fell by about 3% in the first half of 2025, with Gazprom citing the loss of Ukrainian transit capacity as a constraint on output. The company’s board approved a 32% cut to planned 2026 capital investment.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns Gazprom?
The Russian state controls just over 50% of Gazprom, combining a direct 38.37% stake held by the Federal Agency for State Property Management with a further roughly 11.9% held through the state-controlled entities Rosneftegaz and Rosgazifikatsiya. The remaining shares trade publicly on the Moscow Exchange.
Is Gazprom still exporting gas to Europe?
Yes, but at a fraction of historical levels. After Ukraine’s transit agreement with Russia expired on January 1, 2025, TurkStream became Gazprom’s only remaining pipeline route into Europe. Full-year 2025 exports to Europe across all routes totaled around 18 bcm, the lowest level since the mid-1970s, down from roughly 150 bcm a decade earlier.
What happened to Nord Stream?
Russia halted flows through Nord Stream 1 on August 31, 2022. The pipeline was then damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022. No state or group has been officially held responsible; US and European reporting has suggested Ukrainian involvement, which Kyiv denies.
How much gas does Gazprom produce?
Gazprom extracted 416.19 bcm of gas in 2024 and 209.48 bcm in the first half of 2025. The company holds the world’s largest reported proven gas reserves, cited at roughly 35.1 trillion cubic meters.
Who is Gazprom’s CEO?
Alexey Miller has chaired Gazprom’s management committee since 2001 and was reconfirmed for a further term in early 2026.
Sources
- Gazprom PJSC — corporate disclosure on shareholder structure and reserves
- Energy Intelligence — reporting on Gazprom leadership, exports and pipeline projects
- TASS — reporting on China export volumes and Kovyktinskoye field startup
- Reuters (via Pravda/Al Jazeera, Interfax) — reporting on 2023–2025 financial results and export volumes
- Statista — Gazprom shareholder structure data
Illustrative image. Photo: Gordon Leggett, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — source
