INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian natural gas exports to Europe have fallen to their lowest level in half a century, leaving state energy giant Gazprom with billions
June, Gazprom shipped just 8.33 billion cubic meters of gas to European clients, according to figures compiled by Reuters from daily data on
TurkStream, the only remaining active pipeline from Russia to Europe.That represents a 47% drop from the same period in 2024 and puts Russia
on track to deliver less than 16 billion cubic meters to the continent this year
That is a far cry from the 175 billion cubic meters sent in 2021, before the invasion of Ukraine upended the energy relationship between
delivering 19.3 billion cubic meters annually to Europe
Just five years later, after a major pipeline agreement with West Germany, exports had surged to 54.8 billion.Today, the collapse is the
through Ukraine and Poland have been cut or decommissioned, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities remain insufficient to compensate for
meaningful alternative.As a result, Gazprom is awash in gas it cannot sell
Of the 416 billion cubic meters the company produced in 2024, it managed to sell only 355 billion, leaving an estimated 60 billion cubic
The Power of Siberia pipeline to China, opened in 2019, delivers about 20% of the volumes once sent to Europe.Talks over a second pipeline
remain stalled, and broader hopes of pivoting to Asian markets have proven more complicated and time-consuming than Moscow anticipated.With
few options, Russian officials are scrambling to find domestic uses for the glut.The Far East Development Ministry has proposed using the
surplus to power data centers and AI projects.The Energy Ministry has suggested supporting the struggling coal sector, which requires
gas-fired power plants near mining operations
second-largest reserves and controls the South Pars field, the largest on the planet.Financially, the pressure on Gazprom is mounting
In 2023, the company posted a loss of 629 billion rubles ($8.2 billion) under international financial reporting standards
Though it returned to profitability in 2024, reporting a net profit of 1.2 trillion rubles ($15.6 billion), the core gas business still
recorded a loss of 1 trillion rubles ($13 billion).Looking ahead, the situation could grow even more dire.A confidential Gazprom forecast
obtained by the Financial Times projects cumulative losses of up to 15 trillion rubles ($195 billion) over the next decade if export
broader economic ambitions.
