Russian gas giant Gazprom has been stripped of its gas exporting monopoly by lawmakers.
The new act, signed by the Russian president Vladimir Putin on Sunday, has opened the liquefied natural gas exporting market to new players.
However, strict rules will limit the companies that can benefit from the law to just two: Rosneft and Novatek.
According to the new law, only companies in which the government holds at least 50% interest, or those who have plans to develop LNG facilities in the country, will be allowed to independently export liquefied gas.
Gazprom will maintain its export monopoly on conventional gas exports, carried through pipelines.
Currently Russian input in the global LNG market stands at 5% with only one LNG processing plant active on Sakhalin island.
A second plant is being developed on the Yamal Peninsula by a consortium including Novatek, French Total and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), due to start production in 2016.
Russia, the biggest natural gas producer in the world, is aiming to control 20% of the global LNG market by 2030.
Recommended for you
