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TheEnergy in Russia is an area of the national economy, science, and technology of the Russian Federation, encompassing energy resources, production, transmission, transformation, accumulation, distribution, and consumption of various types of energy.[1]
Energy consumption across Russia in 2020 was 7,863 TWh.[2] Russia is a leading global exporter of oil and natural gas[3] and is thefourth highest greenhouse emitter in the world. As of September 2019, Russia adopted the Paris Agreement.[4] In 2020, CO2 emissions per capita were 11.2 tCO2.[5]
As of 2020[update] Russia has no plans to become carbon neutral before 2100 and intends to exploit fossil fuels in the Arctic for the Asian market.[6]
Russia has been widely described as anenergy superpower.[7] It has the world's largestproven gas reserves,[8] the second-largestcoal reserves,[9] the eighth-largestoil reserves,[10] and the largestoil shale reserves in Europe.[11] Russia is also anatural gas exporter,[12] thesecond-largest natural gas producer,[13] the second-largest oilproducer andexporter,[14][15] and the third-largest coal exporter.[16] Russia's oil and gas production has led to deepeconomic relationships with the European Union,China, and formerSoviet andEastern Bloc states.[17][18][16] During the 2010s, Russia's share of supplies to totalEuropean Union (including theUnited Kingdom) gas demand grew from 25% in 2009 to 32% in the weeks before theRussian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.[18] Russia relies heavily on revenues from oil- and gas-related taxes and export tariffs, which accounted for 45% of its federal budget in January 2022.[19] However, after the invasion of Ukraine, the EU countries sanctioned Russian fossil fuels and reduced their imports of them. This forced Russia to reorient exports towards Asia.[20]
Russia is the world's fourth-largestelectricity producer,[21] and the ninth-largestrenewable energy producer in 2019.[22] It was also the world's first country to develop civilian nuclear power, and constructed the world'sfirst nuclear power plant.[23] Russia was also the world's fourth-largestnuclear energy producer in 2019,[24] and was the fifth-largesthydroelectric producer in 2021.[25]
Due to effects from theRussian invasion of Ukraine Russia's revenues fromoil product exports had in August 2025 declined to five-year lows, contributing to Russia's economic slowdown.[26] Acknowledging Russia's strained energy system presidentVladimir Putin pointed in September 2025 to Russia'scoal reserves to offset its gas shortage, insufficient infrastructure and under-developed grid economy.[27]
Russia is rich in energy resources. Russia has the largest knownnatural gas reserves of any state on earth, along with the second largestcoal reserves, and the eighth largestoil reserves. This is 32% of world proven natural gas reserves (23% of the probable reserves), 12% of the proven oil reserves, 10% of the explored coal reserves (14% of the estimated reserves) and 8% of the provenuranium reserves.[28]
With recent acquisitions, Russia has gained assets in the Black Sea that may be worth trillions of dollars.[29][need quotation to verify]
Russia is the world's second largest producer of natural gas, and has the world's largest gas reserves. Russia used to be the world's largest gas exporter.Gazprom andNovatek are Russia's main gas producers, but many Russian oil companies, includingRosneft, also operate gas production facilities. Gazprom, which is state-owned, is the largest gas producer, but its share of production has declined over the past decade, as Novatek and Rosneft have expanded their production capacity. However, Gazprom still accounted for 68% of Russian gas production in 2021. Historically, production was concentrated in WestSiberia, but investment has shifted in the past decade toYamal and Eastern Siberia and theFar East, as well as the offshoreArctic.[3][18][17]
Russia also has a wide-reaching gas exportpipeline network, both via transit routes throughBelarus[citation needed]andUkraine(until the end of 2024), and via pipelines sending gas directly into Europe, such asTurkStream. Russia natural gas in 2021 accounted for 45% of imports and almost 40% ofEuropean Union gas demand.[3]
In late 2019, Russia launched a major eastward gas export pipeline, the roughly 3,000 km-longPower of Siberia pipeline, in order to be able to send gas from far east fields directly toChina. Russia is looking to develop thePower of Siberia 2 pipeline, with a capacity of 50 bcm/year, which would supply China from the West Siberian gas fields. No supply agreements and no final investment decision have yet been reached on the pipeline.[3]
Furthermore, Russia has been expanding itsliquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity, in order to compete with growing LNG exports from the United States,Australia andQatar. In 2021, Russia exported 40 bcm of LNG, making it the world's 4th largest LNG exporter and accounting for approximately 8% of global LNG supply.[3]
In recent years, Russia has increasingly focused on the Arctic as a way to increase oil and gas production. The Arctic accounts for over 80% of Russia's natural gas production and an estimated 20% of its crude production. Whileclimate change threatens future investment in the region, it also presents Russia with the opportunity of increasing access to Arctic trade routes, allowing for further flexibility for seaborne deliveries of fossil fuels, particularly to Asia, provided sanctions permit the construction of specialist ice breaking LNG tankers.[3]
In 2022 Russia lost 75% of their export market following theRussian invasion of Ukraine when the European Union took the decision to cease buying Russian energy.[30]
Russia is a major player in global energy markets. It is one of the world's top threecrude oil producers, vying for the top spot withSaudi Arabia and the United States. In 2021, Russian crude and condensate output reached 10.5 million barrels per day (barrels per day), making up 14% of the world's total supply. Russia has oil and gas production facilities throughout the country, but the bulk of its fields are concentrated in western and easternSiberia. China is the largest importer of Russian crude (making up 20% of Russian exports),[3][17][18] but Russia exports a significant volume to buyers in Europe.[3]
While the Russian oil industry has seen a period of consolidation in recent years, several major players remain.Rosneft, which is state-owned, is the largest oil producer in Russia. It is followed byLukoil, which is the largest privately owned oil company in the country.Gazprom Neft,Surgutneftegaz,Tatneft andRussneft also have significant production and refining assets.[3]
Russia has extensive crude export pipeline capacity, allowing it to ship large volumes of crude oil directly to Europe as well as Asia. The roughly 5,500 kmDruzhba pipeline system, the world's longest pipeline network, transports 750,000 bpd of crude directly to refiners in east and central Europe. At present, Russia supplies roughly 20% of total European refinery crude throughputs.[citation needed] In 2012, Russia launched the 4,740 km 1.6 million bpdEastern Siberia—Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, which sends crude directly to Asian markets such as China andJapan. The pipeline was part of Russia's general energy pivot to Asia, a strategy focused on shifting export dependence away from Europe, and taking advantage of growing Asian demand for crude. Russia also ships crude by tanker from the Northwest ports ofUst-Luga andPrimorsk, as well as theBlack Sea port ofNovorossiysk, andKozmino in theFar East. In addition, Russia also exports crude by rail.[3] In 2022 much of the pipe delivered crude oil to Europe ceased, as did most ship borne crude oil to Europe, as a result of sanctions.
Russia has an estimated 6.9 million bpd ofrefining capacity, and produces a substantial amount of oil products, such asgasoline anddiesel. Russian companies have spent the last decade investing heavily in refining capacity in order to take advantage offavorable government taxation, as well as growing global diesel demand. As a result, Russia has been able to shift the vast majority of its motor fuel production to meet EU standards.[3][obsolete source]
Russia's energy strategy prioritizes self-sufficiency in gasoline, so it tends to export minimal volumes. However, Russian refiners produced roughly double the diesel needed to satisfy domestic demand, and typically exported half their annual production, much of it to European markets. In 2021 Russia exported 750,000 bpd of diesel to Europe, meeting 10% of demand.[3] The EU market for refined oil products was lost following the invasion of Ukraine and the 2023 introduction of sanctions.
Russia has the world's second largestcoal reserves, with 157 billion tonnes of reserves. Russia is the world's third largest coal exporter.[31] Since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European sanctions have forced Russia to intensify the reorientation of its coal exports towards Asia. However, limited eastward rail capacity is a severe bottleneck for coal exports to Asia.[16]
Russian coal reserves are widely dispersed.[16] The principal hard coal deposits are located in the Pechora and Kuznetsk basins. The Kansk-Achinsk basin contains huge deposits ofbrown coal. The Siberian Lena andTunguska basins are largely unexplored resources, which would probably be difficult to exploit commercially.[32]
Hydropower accounts for about 20% of Russia's total electric power production. The country has 102 hydropower plants in operation, withRusHydro the world's second-largest hydroelectric power producer.[33]
Hydro generation (including pumped-storage output) in 2020 was 196 TWh, which represents 4.4% of world hydroelectricity generation. In 2020 installed hydroelectric generating capacity was 49.9 GW, making Russia the seventh largest hydroelectricity producer in the world.[34]
Gross theoretical potential of the Russian hydro resource base is 2,295 TWh per year, of which 852 TWh is regarded as economically feasible. Most of this potential is located in Siberia and the Far East.[35]
Nuclear power produced 216 TWh of electricity in 2020, representing 20% of Russian electricity production and 11.8% of global nuclear power production.[36] There are thirty-eight nuclear reactors in operation across Russia producing 29.4 GW of electricity. Four new reactors are under construction, with a further thirty-four in various stages of planning.
From 2001, all Russian civil reactors were operated byEnergoatom. On 19 January 2007, Russian Parliament adopted legislation which createdAtomenergoprom - a holding company for all Russian civil nuclear industry, including Energoatom, the nuclear fuel producer and supplierTVEL, the uranium traderTekhsnabexport (Tenex) and nuclear facilities constructorAtomstroyexport.
Uranium exploration and development activities have been largely concentrated on three east-of-Urals uranium districts (Transural, West Siberia and Vitim). The most important uranium-producing area has been the Streltsovsky region near Krasnokamensk in theChita Oblast. In 2019, Russia was the world's seventh largest producer of uranium, accounting for 4.7% of global output.[37]
Despite thewildfires in Russia partly due to previous peat extraction,[38] as late as 2023 some Russian academics were still considering peat as a fuel.[39]
Low prices for energy and in particular subsidies for natural gas hinder renewable energy development in Russia.[40] Russia lags behind other countries in creating a conducive framework for renewable energy development.[41]Non-hydroelectricrenewable energy in Russia is largely undeveloped although Russia has many potential renewable energy resources.
Geothermal energy, which is used for heating and electricity production in some regions of theNorthern Caucasus and theFar East, is the most developed renewable energy source in Russia after hydroelectric energy.[42] Geothermal resources have been identified in theNorthern Caucasus,Western Siberia,Lake Baikal, and inKamchatka and theKuril Islands. In 1966 a 4 MWe single-flash plant was commissioned atPauzhetka (currently 11 MWe) followed by a 12 MWe geothermal power plant at Verkhne Mutnovsky, and 50 MWeMutnovsky geothermal power plant. At the end of 2005 installed capacity for direct use amounted to more than 307 MWt.[43]
It has been estimated that Russia's gross potential for solar energy is 2.3 trillion tce. The regions with the best solar radiation potential are the North Caucasus, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea areas, and southern parts of Siberia and the Far East. This potential is largely unused, although the possibilities for off-grid solar energy or hybrid applications in remote areas are huge. However, the construction of a single solar power plant Kislovodskaya SPP (1.5 MW) has been delayed.[44]
Russia has high quality wind resources on the Pacific and Arctic coasts and in vast steppe and mountain areas. Large-scale wind energy systems are suitable inSiberia and the Far East (east ofSakhalin Island, the south ofKamchatka, theChukotka Peninsula,Vladivostok), the steppes along the Volga river, the northern Caucasus steppes and mountains and on the Kola Peninsula, where power infrastructure and major industrial consumers are in place. At the end of 2006, total installed wind capacity was 15 MW. Major wind power stations operate at Kalmytskaya (2 MW), Zapolyarnaya (1.5 MW), Kulikovskaya (5.1 MW), Tyupkildi (2.2 MW) and Observation Cape (2.5 MW). Feasibility studies are being carried out on the Kaliningradskaya (50 MW) and the Leningradskaya (75 MW) wind farms. There are about 100 MW of wind projects inKalmykia and inKrasnodar Krai.[45]
A small pilot tidal power plant with a capacity of 400 kW was constructed atKislaya Guba nearMurmansk in 1968. In 2007, Gidro OGK, a subsidiary of the Unified Energy System (UES) began the installation of a 1.5 MW experimental orthogonal turbine at Kislaya Guba. If it proves successful, UES plans to continue withMezen Bay (15,000 MW) andTugur Bay (7,980 MW) projects.[46]
Russia is the world's fourth largest electricity producer after China, the United States, and India. In 2020, Russia produced 1,085 TWh[47] and exported 20 TWh of electricity.[48]
Roughly 60% of Russia's electricity is generated by fossil fuels, 20% byhydroelectricity, 20% bynuclear reactors.[47] Renewable energy generation is minimal.
Russia exports electricity to theCIS countries,Estonia,Latvia,Lithuania, China,Poland, Turkey andFinland.[citation needed]
Russian billionaires in energy byForbes in 2013 included No 41Mikhail Fridman ($16.5 B), No 47Leonid Michelson ($15.4 B), 52Viktor Vekselberg ($15.1 B), 55Vagit Alekperov ($14.8 B), 56Andrey Melnichenko ($14.4 B), 62Gennady Timchenko ($14.1 B), 103German Khan ($10.5 B), 138Alexei Kuzmichov ($8.2 B), 162Leonid Fedun ($7.1 B), 225Pyotr Aven ($5.4 B), 423Vladimir Bogdanov ($3.2 B), 458Mikhail Gutseriev ($3 B), 641Alexander Dzhaparidze ($2.3 B), 792Igor Makarov ($1.9 B), 882Anatoly Skurov ($1.7 B), 974Vladimir Gridin and family ($1.5 B), 974Andrei Kosogov ($1.5 B), 1031Farkhad Akhmedov ($1.4 B), 1088Alexander Putilov ($1.35 B), 1161Mikhail Abyzov ($1.25 B) and 1175Konstantin Grigorishin ($1.2 B).[49]
This article incorporates text from afree content work. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (license statement/permission). Text taken fromFrequently Asked Questions on Energy Security, International Energy Agency.
This article incorporates text from afree content work. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (license statement/permission). Text taken fromEnergy Fact Sheet: Why does Russian oil and gas matter?, International Energy Agency.
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