Russia's oil and gas revenues fall for third consecutive month
Russia's oil and gas revenues fell by nearly 30% year-on-year in July, marking the third consecutive month of declines, the Russian Finance Ministry reported on Aug. 5, as reported by independent out the Moscow Times.
Russia relies heavily on its energy exports to finance the ongoing large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia collected 787.3 billion rubles ($9.8 billion) from oil and gas taxes in July, which is down 28% compared to the same month in 2024. Over the first seven months of 2025, oil and gas revenues fell by 19%, totaling 5.52 trillion rubles ($68 billion) — below the 6.78 trillion rubles collected in the same period last year ($84 billion).
Mineral extraction tax (NDPI) revenue — a key component of Russia's energy income — plunged 38% year-on-year to 634.1 billion rubles ($7.9 billion), with oil companies contributing 543.4 billion rubles ($6.7 billion), 36% less than in July 2024.
Gazprom, Russia's state-owned gas giant, has seen its exports to Europe hit lows not seen since the 1970s, according to the Moscow Times. Earlier, in July, the EU approved the 18th sanctions package, lowering the price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $47.6 per barrel.
The cap was originally imposed by the G7 in late 2022 to curtail Russia's oil revenues without destabilizing global markets.
Initially, Russia's Finance Ministry had projected 10.94 trillion rubles ($136 billion) in oil and gas revenue for 2025. That estimate has now been revised downward by nearly a quarter to 8.32 trillion rubles ($103 billion).
To compensate, the Kremlin will reportedly continue tapping into the National Wealth Fund, whose liquid assets have already shrunk by two-thirds since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Aug. 5 that falling oil prices could compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin "will stop killing people" if OPEC and OPEC+ countries continue to export more oil.
"He's (Putin) going to have no choice, because his economy stinks," Trump said in an interview with CNBC. "(OPEC and OPEC+) want to drill more because, I think, they want me happy, because if energy goes down low enough, Putin is going to stop killing people," Trump claimed.
