Russia’s financial system was under siege Monday, but the country is still pumping and exporting vast amounts of oil and natural gas to the rest of the world, delivering cash in the face of Western sanctions and a financial cushion for President Vladimir Putin. At the heart of it lie two London-listed energy giants.
Gas exporter Gazprom PJSC and oil giant Rosneft PJSC fund a large chunk of the Russian state and are among the country’s largest employers. Neither have been targeted by major Western sanctions, a sign of their importance in the global energy markets. Rosneft says it is Russia’s biggest taxpayer, contributing a fifth of budget revenues. Gazprom paid 2.3 trillion rubles, or $32 billion, to Russia’s budget in 2020, according to the company. That amounts to around 6% of budget revenues, based on International Monetary Fund data.
