Reuters Reports Surging Russian Gas Exports to EU

Energy giant Gazprom has ramped up pipeline supplies to Western, Central, Southern and Southeastern Europe by nearly a quarter, the outlet has said

Russian natural gas exports to Western, Central, Southern, and Southeastern Europe surged by 23% year-on-year in June, rebounding from last year’s decline, according to estimates from Reuters.   

Energy giant Gazprom ramped up pipeline gas supplies, which totaled 81.8 million cubic meters (mcm) per day last month, up from 66.8 mcm in June last year, the outlet reported, citing data from the European gas transmission group Entsog and Gazprom’s reports on gas transit via Ukraine.  

The Russian energy giant’s June exports declined from the 89.5 mcm daily volume in May due to planned maintenance at the undersea TurkStream pipeline, but were up from the 66.8 mcm recorded in June 2023, the outlet said.   

So far this year, Russian gas exports to the region have totaled about 15.5 billion cubic meters (bcm).  

Before the start of the Ukraine conflict Russia delivered around 155 bcm of natural gas to the European Union, primarily via pipelines. Gazprom, once the EU’s main gas supplier, reduced its exports to the bloc dramatically in 2022, following Western sanctions and the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.   

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea and carried natural gas from Russia to the EU, along with the newly built Nord Stream 2, were ruptured by underwater explosions in September 2022, rendering them inoperable.  

In response to Western sanctions, Russia has rerouted gas deliveries eastwards and sharply boosted sales to China. Last year, Beijing increased pipeline gas imports from Russia via the Power of Siberia pipeline to 22.7 bcm, nearly 1.5 times more compared to the 15.4 bcm shipped in 2022, data shows.   

Nonetheless, Gazprom continues to supply gas for transit to Western and Central Europe through Ukrainian territory via the Sudzha gas pumping station.  

The EU reduced its reliance on Russian energy by replacing it with imports of LNG from countries including the US, which became the main source of gas for the bloc. However, Western nations have not stopped buying Russian energy despite the unprecedented sanctions they have imposed against Moscow. These nations have just switched to “workarounds” to procure Russian imports, according to the Russian Energy Ministry.  

In its latest round of sanctions, the EU has banned operations for re-exporting Russian LNG via the bloc. Deliveries of LNG for use within the EU remain unaffected, however.