The collapse of gas exports is due “to the refusal of European countries to buy Russian gas”, lamented the Russian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Energy.
Mixed results for Russian hydrocarbon exports. Gas exports collapsed by 25.1% in 2022, weighed down by international sanctions, while those of oil increased by 7.6% over the same period, the Deputy Prime Minister announced on Monday February 13. Russian Minister in charge of Energy, Alexander Novak.
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The fall in demand for gas is due to the “refusal of European countries to buy Russian gas, as well as the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines”, he justified in an article published on the specialized Russian site “Energy Policy”. The announcement comes after nearly a year of conflict in Ukraine, during which Kiev’s allies passed a flurry of international sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector to limit Moscow’s revenue. The European Union, formerly the largest customer of Russian gas, has thus drastically reduced its imports during the year 2022.
New demand from Asia-Pacific
The Russian Deputy Prime Minister, however, was pleased “to see the growth potential of gas supply in the Asia-Pacific region”to whom gas deliveries through the “Siberian Force” gas pipeline in the Russian Far East “increased by 48% and reached a historic high of 15.4 billion m3” in 2022.
On the other hand, Europeans continue to buy lesser quantities of liquefied natural gas (LNG), from numerous Russian reserves and transported by sea on LNG carriers. Its exports all over the world “increased 7.9% last year”at 45.7 billion m3, he assured.
On the black gold side, Russia increased its oil exports by 7.6% in 2022, to 242 million tonnes, despite the European embargo and the export price ceiling imposed since the beginning of December by the European Union, the G7 and Australia. India, China and Turkey have particularly increased their consumption of Russian crude. “This year, it is planned to deliver more than 80% of oil exports and 75% of oil products to ‘friendly countries'”concluded Alexander Novak.