Energy policy of Russia rate at which Russia’s gas is sold to Germany. Russia's energy superpower status became a hot topic in the European Union in 2006. Russia's large reserves of natural gas have helped give it the title without much debate. Russia has identified natural gas as a key strategic asset, and since 20 July 2006 Gazprom has had the exclusive right to export natural gas. The Russian government is the largest shareholder of Gazprom, and has been accused of manipulating prices for political reasons, particularly in CIS nations. After Russia's annexation of Crimea and involvement in the War in Eastern Ukraine in
Gazprom Promgaz for gas supply of South Ossetia and Armenia. Gazprom Promgaz plans gas transportation and its distribution systems, as well as investigating various research in the field of natural gas. The company is the general planner of the natural gas supply program for Russian regions, developed by Gazprom. The company is also a research center of Gazprom in the field of regional power systems, the supply, distribution and use of gas, efficient energy use and energy-savings, price setting for construction of gas industry objectives, the development of regional hydrocarbon fields and development of non-traditional hydrocarbon resources including coal bed methane. Gazprom