In 2004, Russias real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by approximately 7.1 percent, surpassing average growth rates in all other G8 countries, and marking the countrys sixth consecutive year of economic expansion. Russias economic growth over the past five years has been fueled primarily by energy exports, given the increase in Russian Oil production and relatively high world oil prices during the period. Russias economy is heavily dependent on oil and Natural Gas exports, making it vulnerable to fluctuations in world oil prices. According to an IMFstudy, a $1 per Barrel increase in Urals blend oil prices for a year is estimated to raise federal budget revenues by 0.35 percent of GDP, or 1.8 billion—a fact that underlines the influence of oil on Russias fiscal position and its vulnerability to oil market volatility. The governments stabilization fund, a rainy-day storage facility for windfall oil receipts that came into effect on January 1, 2004, is designed to help offset oil market volatility. Even before oil prices reached near-record levels, the fund was expected to be worth almost $52 billion by the end of 2005, or about 7 percent of the countrys GDP. Raw materials, such as oil, natural gas, and metals, dominate exports and account for over two-thirds of all Russian export revenues. As Russias stabilization fund grows, using it to solve social problems or to buy other assets outside of Russia may become more likely. Although estimates vary widely, the World Bank has suggested that Russias oil and gas sector may have accounted for up to 25% of GDP in 2003 while employing less than 1% of the population. The Russian government has made decoupling economic growth from commodity exports a priority. But, nationalizing parts of the energy sector has come at the expense of Russian oil and natural gas producers, who are seeking to grow in a more liberalized marketplace, as Well as Russias external trading partners, who are pressuring the country to synchronize its policies with those in Western Europe and North America. Key to these efforts will be breaking up the monopolies that control the natural gas and electricity industries. Kremlin policy makers continue to exhibit an inclination to advance the states influence in the energy sector, not to reduce it. Taxes on oil exports have been raised significantly and private oil companies complain that the higher export taxes are hindering efficient allocation of profits into exploration and development. State-owned export facilities have grown at breakneck pace, while private projects have progressed more slowly or have been met with roadblocks by state-owned companies Gazprom and Transneft; Rosneft, the state-owned oil company has obtained the 1-million-bbl/d Yukos unit of Yuganskneftegaz; and leading industry figures have come under criminal investigation by Russias Procuracy General.