Gazprom (English: Open Joint Stock Company “Gazprom”, Russian: Открытое акционерное общество “Газпром” Otkrytoye aktsionernoye obshchestvo “Gazprom”) is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company.
Gazprom was created in 1989 when the Ministry of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union transformed itself into a corporation, keeping all its assets intact. The company was later privatized in part, but currently the Russian government holds a controlling stake.
In 2008, the company produced 549.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas, amounting to 17% of the worldwide gas production. In addition, the company produced 32 million tons of oil and 10.9 million tons of gas. Gazprom’s activities accounted for 10% of Russia’s gross domestic product in 2008.