Russian gas exports to Europe fell to a historic low since the 1970s - Reuters
Kyiv • UNN
Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe in 2025 decreased by 44% to 18 billion cubic meters, which is the lowest figure since the mid-1970s. This happened after the closure of the Ukrainian route and the cessation of fossil fuel imports from Russia.
Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe will fall by 44% in 2025 to their lowest level since the mid-1970s after the closure of the Ukrainian route and the gradual cessation of fossil fuel imports from Russia, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing calculations, writes UNN.
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The EU has stated that it will cease Russian gas imports by the end of 2027 as part of its efforts to overcome the bloc's dependence on Russian energy carriers.
Europe was previously Russia's largest source of budget revenue from oil and gas sales through pipelines built from the former Soviet Union to Western Europe in the 1960s and 1970s.
Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe peaked at over 175-180 billion cubic meters per year in 2018-2019 and cost tens of billions for Gazprom and the Russian state, which owns a controlling stake in the company, the publication writes.
But this year, Gazprom's supplies amounted to only 18 billion cubic meters and were sent via the TurkStream underwater pipeline, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the European gas transmission group Entsog.
This is the lowest level since the early 1970s, the publication writes.
According to Gazprom, the then Soviet Union supplied 19.3 billion cubic meters to Europe in 1975, compared to 6.8 billion cubic meters in 1973, at the beginning of Siberian gas exports.
TurkStream is the only transit route for Russian gas to Europe after Ukraine decided not to extend the five-year transit agreement with Moscow, which expired on January 1.
Serbia, Hungary, and Slovakia, in addition to Turkey, are among the countries that receive gas through TurkStream.
Russia also exports gas to Europe in liquefied form by tankers and is the second largest supplier to the EU after the United States.
In December alone, supplies via TurkStream to Europe increased by 12.9% compared to the same month last year to approximately 56 million cubic meters per day. This is also 3% more than in November, data show.
Exports via TurkStream to Europe this year increased by approximately 7% from 16.8 billion cubic meters in 2024, data show. Together with the Ukrainian route, exports amounted to 32 billion cubic meters in 2024, which is 13% more than in 2023.
Gazprom's exports to Turkey amount to about 20 billion cubic meters per year.
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