Western sanctions are having an effect: the volume of Russian gas exports will drop significantly by more than 25 percent in 2022. Deputy Prime Minister Nowak admits that the lower imports from Europe are the reason. He announces a success in the export of oil.
Russian gas exports fell sharply last year. Exports “fell by 25.1 percent to 184.4 billion cubic meters,” said Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who is responsible for energy. Oil exports, on the other hand, increased by 7.6 percent.
The slump in gas exports is due to “the refusal of European countries to buy Russian gas and the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines,” Nowak said. Gas deliveries to EU countries – formerly the most important buyers of Russian natural gas – had fallen drastically over the course of 2022.
Nowak welcomed the sharp increase in gas exports to Asia, especially to China. Deliveries through the “Power of Siberia” pipeline increased by 48 percent to 15.4 billion cubic meters.
Exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by ship have also increased – by 7.9 percent to 45.7 billion cubic meters. While Europeans were buying almost no more pipeline gas from Russia by the end of the year, several countries continued to buy Russian LNG.
Russia has recorded an increase in exports of oil, Nowak explained. India and China bought significantly more Russian oil at discounted prices. Turkey also purchased large quantities. The EU, the G7 countries and Australia introduced an oil price cap on Russian exports to the world market in December in order to reduce Russia’s income from the business.
