Gazprom reports nearly 25 percent drop in gas production in first half

Russian gas giant Gazprom’s production fell year on year by nearly 25 percent to 179.45 billion cubic meters in the first half of this year. The company, which has recently been grappling with a sharp drop in exports to Europe, announced the figures yesterday, Reuters reported.

Gazprom said at the end of August that its net profit plunged to 296 billion rubles (around CZK 70 billion) in the first half, from 2.5 trillion rubles a year earlier. In the second quarter alone, the company posted a loss of 18.6 billion rubles, compared with a profit of 1.03 trillion rubles a year earlier.

Gazprom has the world’s largest natural gas reserves and holds a monopoly on exports of this strategically important commodity from Russia via pipelines. “The decline in exports to Europe was partially offset by deliveries to China, which continue to grow,” Gazprom Deputy CEO Famil Sadygov said in August.