Yamal LNG's $9.5B in Taxes Could Fund Russian Military or EU's Energy Needs
Russian energy giant Yamal LNG has contributed significantly to the Russian treasury in recent years, despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Between 2022 and 2024, the company paid a staggering $9.5 billion in corporate tax. This substantial sum could have alternatively funded a significant military build-up, with Russia potentially acquiring 271,000 attack drones, 2,686 combat tanks, or 9.5 million artillery shells.
The high earnings of Yamal LNG, which totaled $40 billion from LNG sales to EU countries during the same period, have been partly driven by the energy crisis. TotalEnergies, a French company, holds a 20% stake in Yamal LNG and a 19.4% stake in the parent company Novatek, benefiting from these stakes during the crisis. Other major European customers include German company Sefe and Spanish company Naturgy, which contributed approximately $2.5 billion, $1.45 billion, and $1.25 billion respectively to Russian corporate tax.
Despite the disruptions in Russian gas exports, particularly impacting countries like Germany, the four most important Russian LNG importing countries in the EU spent more on LNG imports than on bilateral aid to Ukraine from 2022 to June 2025. In the first eight months of 2023 alone, Russia imported 12.8 billion cubic meters of LNG into the EU. However, it is worth noting that Germany's Sefe is bound to Yamal LNG until 2038 due to long-term contracts, potentially providing continued support to the Russian economy.
The significant corporate tax payments by Yamal LNG highlight the complex economic ties between Russia and the EU, even amidst political tensions. While the energy crisis has driven up earnings for Russian energy companies, the EU's reliance on Russian LNG imports has also provided substantial financial support to the Russian economy.
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