Russian gas exports fall to post-Soviet lows

Russian gas exports to Europe via pipelines plummeted in 2022 to post-Soviet lows as its biggest customer cut imports due to the conflict in Ukraine and a major pipeline was damaged by mysterious explosions, Gazprom data and calculations showed. from Reuters.

The European Union, traditionally Russia’s biggest consumer of oil and gas, has been talking for years about reducing its dependence on Russian energy, but Brussels got serious after the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in February.

State-controlled Gazprom, citing its chief executive Alexei Miller, said its exports outside the former Soviet Union will reach 100.9 billion cubic meters (bcm) this year.

The figure represents a decrease of more than 45% compared to 185.1 bcm in 2021 and includes supplies to China through the Power of Siberia gas pipeline, through which Gazprom delivered 10.39 bcm.

Direct exports of Russian gas to Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, were halted in September after explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

Both Sweden and Denmark have concluded that four leaks at Nord Stream 1 and 2 were caused by explosions, but have not said who is responsible.

Russia has accused British navy personnel of being behind the explosions, a claim London has denied.

Russian gas exports through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline reached a record 59.2 bcm last year.

Russia’s 100.9 bcm of pipeline supplies, which Gazprom defines as exports to the “far abroad,” is one of the lowest totals since 1991.

According to Gazprom Export, one of Gazprom’s previous post-Soviet lows in gas sales to the “far abroad” was 117.4 bcm in 1995.

Russia, meanwhile, increased its sales of seaborne liquefied natural gas (LNG), thanks to Novatek’s Yamal LNG plant in the Arctic.

According to the government body Rosstat, Russia’s LNG production rose almost 10% between January and November, to 29.7 million tons.

In addition, Russia has managed to offset lower gas imports to Europe with higher energy prices in its budget. Oil and gas revenue increased by more than a third in the first 10 months of the year.

Gazprom also announced that its gas production for 2022 will be 412.6 bcm, down from 514.8 bcm in 2021.

Finally, Miller reported that gas deliveries to China will increase.

According to the executive, the company decided to exceed its daily volumes with a maximum of 18.7%, for which he estimated that total exports to China will rise to 48,000 bcm.