Gazprom-AR2014

Trends and Developments on Oil and Gas Markets
51
Falling gas consumption, competition from independent producers and the launch
of a gas exchange on the Russian market
Russia’s total natural gas consumption in 2014 was 458.4 bcm, down 1% y-o-y, with climate and
weather being the key factors behind the decline. Almost throughout the reporting year, average
monthly ambient temperature far surpassed the average figures of many years before.
Russia’s gas consumption, 2010–2014, bcm
2010 460.3
2011 473.0
2012 466.1
2013 461.3
2014 458.4
Economic and political factors became stronger in the second half of 2014: a fresh wave
of the financial crisis triggered and accelerated by the political turmoil in Ukraine and by economic
sanctions imposed on Russia, led to an overall reduction in gas consumption in the most gasintensive
sectors, i.e. in the power industry, cement industry, metals industry, and agricultural
chemistry.
Russia’s regulated public segment prevails over the unregulated segment in the gas market.
OAO Gazprom is the largest natural gas supplier to the regulated market. A number of regional
gas companies are also active in the regulated segment outside the UGSS.
Against the backdrop of falling consumption, independent gas producers increased supplies
to consumers bringing the volume of gas supplied to Russian consumers up to 115.8 bcm (up
12.9%) in 2014. In the same year, OAO NOVATEK and OAO NK Rosneft Oil Company delivered
around 84% of the total gas supplied by all independent producers to the gas transportation
system.
Independent gas producers, enjoying significant advantages over OAO Gazprom in the conditions
of domestic gas sales, offer their gas to reliable major consumers in high-income regions
(e.g. the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk Regions) at lower than regulated prices. This is leading to
increasingly more consumers signing supply contracts with independent producers who are growing
their specific weight on the domestic market as a result.
Russia’s gas production, 2009–2014, bcm
Gazprom GroupCompanies outside
Gazprom Group
2009 461.52 121.42 582.94
2010 508.59 142.19 650.78
2011 513.17 157.57 670.74
2012 487.02 167.41 654.43
2013 487.39 180.82 668.21
2014 443.88 198.19 642.07
Source: CDU TEK and OAO Gazprom.
Total
OAO Gazprom Annual Report 2014