Russian Gazprom delivered half as much gas to Europe last year

Natural gas deliveries to Europe via pipelines from Russia fell again last year. After flows of gas from Russia began to decline sharply in 2022, volumes fell further last year. Less than half as much gas flowed last year through the two remaining routes used by Gazprom to supply Europe as the year before. Compared with pre-pandemic years, that was less than a fifth of the original volumes. The situation with liquefied natural gas deliveries did not change significantly, with volumes comparable to those in 2022.

Last year, Russia exported only a fraction of the gas it was supplying to Europe through pipelines just a few years ago. According to Reuters calculations, only 28.3 billion cubic metres of gas flowed from Russia to Europe through pipelines last year. The agency based its calculations on data from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) and information from Gazprom on exports via Ukraine.

As recently as 2022, Russia supplied almost 64 billion cubic metres of gas to Europe via pipelines. In the year before last, the Nord Stream pipeline was still operating for part of the year, and gas also continued to flow through Belarus to Poland. At present, Russian gas reaches Europe through only two main transit routes: Ukraine and Turkey.

Compared with historical levels, deliveries in both the year before last and last year accounted for only a fraction of the original volumes. Annual volumes delivered to Europe through pipelines reached around 175 to 180 billion cubic metres in 2018 and 2019.

LNG deliveries were unchanged last year

The situation with liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries changed little last year. According to Reuters, Russian LNG exports to Europe fell by just under 2% last year, to 15.8 million tonnes. That is equivalent to approximately 22.1 billion cubic metres of gas, meaning liquefied gas already accounted for almost half of all Russian gas supplied to Europe.

Although LNG imports from Russia have risen considerably over the past two years, the increase was nowhere near enough to make up for the shortfall in pipeline deliveries. Around half of Russia’s total LNG exports went to Europe last year, with the rest going to Asia. Russia plans to significantly expand its LNG export capacity in the coming years, but these plans are running up against Western sanctions.