Gas production in Russia in 2022 decreased by 11.8% compared to 2021 and amounted to 672.57 billion cubic meters, informed sources told Kommersant. This is the lowest level since at least 2016, when 640.2 billion cubic meters of gas was produced.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said in late December that the company’s gas production fell 20% year-on-year to 412.6 billion cubic meters due to a sharp drop in exports to Europe. Lukoil also reduced gas production in 2022 – by 0.8% to 20.64 billion cubic meters.

Other Russian companies increased gas production at the end of the year. Gazprom Neft (Gazprom takes it into account in its statistics) increased it by 14.9% to 50.5 billion cubic meters. “Novatek (MCX:NVTK)” – by 1.7% (to 83.6 billion cubic meters). “Rosneft (MCX:ROSN)” – by 16% (to 69 billion cubic meters). And independent producers will continue to increase gas production, according to the interlocutors of the publication.

At the same time, Gazprom’s production in 2023 may decrease by another 30-40 billion cubic meters, even taking into account the growth of supplies to China through the Power of Siberia gas pipeline. According to independent expert Alexander Sobko, we should not expect a significant increase in domestic gas consumption, which could partially compensate for the decline in exports. In addition, independent producers are claiming a part of the demand on the stagnating domestic market.