Russia’s vast natural resources, from the mineral-rich Ural Mountains to the extensive fossil fuel reserves of Siberia and the Far East, make it one of the world’s most resource-abundant nations. Exports from these resources dominate Russia’s economy, with oil and gas providing a significant share of its hard currency earnings.
Russia holds the title of an “energy superpower,” with the world’s largest reserves of natural gas, the second-largest reserves of coal, the eighth-largest reserves of oil, and the largest shale reserves in Europe. It leads globally in natural gas exports, ranks as the second-largest producer and exporter of oil, and is the third-largest coal exporter. Fossil fuels remain the primary contributor to Russia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Russia also stands as the fourth-largest producer of electricity and ranks ninth globally in renewable energy production. As the first country to pioneer civilian nuclear energy, Russia constructed the world’s first nuclear power plant and today holds a dominant position in international nuclear markets, spearheaded by the state-owned corporation Rosatom. Although oil and gas faced sanctions following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2023, the nuclear sector remained unaffected.
In the mid-2000s, oil and gas made up approximately 20% of Russia’s GDP, a proportion that has remained relatively stable, contributing roughly half of the country’s export revenues and federal budget. The Russian statistics agency, Rosstat, found that the combined share of the oil and gas sector, including production, refinement, and distribution, ranged from 15% to 21% of GDP over recent years. This share is lower than in other resource-rich nations, like Saudi Arabia at 50% and the UAE at 30%, but higher than in the United States (8%) and Canada (under 10%).
While Russia consumes about two-thirds of its gas domestically and a quarter of its oil, it exports the majority of its oil, holding a 17.5% share of the global oil market—higher than Saudi Arabia. Experts estimate that in 2023, the total economic impact of oil and gas revenue in Russia reached around 24% of the country’s GDP, including direct and indirect contributions. According to the World Bank, oil rents in Russia are approximately 9.7% of GDP, compared to 14.8% in Kazakhstan, 23.7% in Saudi Arabia, and 15.7% in the UAE.
In 2023, Russia’s tax revenues from oil and gas declined by 24%, totaling 8.8 trillion rubles (roughly $99.4 billion) compared to the previous year.
