Russia, meanwhile, is overwhelmingly dependent on Europe as a customer. In 2012, Western Europe bought 76 percent of Russia's natural gas exports, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Oil and gas make up half of the Russian government's revenue. In 2012, Gazprom finished construction of a 760-mile-long twin pipeline system through the Baltic Sea, which circumvents Ukraine. It plans to expand that pipeline's capacity and is already constructing an additional pipeline through southern Europe that is expected to come online by 2018.
Last year, Russia's share of Europe's natural-gas imports rebounded somewhat from 25 percent to 30 percent – a trend Gazprom expects will continue.
"Gazprom has increased its share in European markets because Europe's domestic production has fallen in countries such as Britain and Norway ... we see no signals that the situation in Europe will change," Gazprom's deputy head Alexander Medvedev said Monday, as reported by Reuters. "Europe simply won't see the arrival of gas suppliers of such caliber [as Russia, Norway or Algeria] anytime soon."
