Estimate of Russian 2022 gas production revised upwards to 673.8 bcm

MOSCOW. Feb 13 (Interfax) - The estimate of Russia's 2022 gas production has once again been revised upwards to 673.8 billion cubic meters, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported in an article in the journal Energy Policy.

Russian gas production reached 763 billion cubic meters in 2021.

"Production in 2022 was 673.8 billion cubic meters," the official writes.

In December, Novak announced a preliminary estimate of 671 billion cubic meters. In the official Rosstat data, Russia's annual gas production is 672 billion cubic meters.

The total export of natural gas decreased 25.1% to 184.4 billion cubic meters, including export of LPG in gas form, which rose 7.9% to 45.7 billion cubic meters.

The reduction in export and production is due to objective reasons - the refusal of European countries to buy Russian gas, and the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, Novak said.

At the same time, in 2022, gas supplies to China actively increased, he said. Records for the daily transportation of Russian gas through the Power of Siberia pipeline have been set more than once. As a result, gas supplies to China via the Power of Siberia increased 48% and reached a historic high of 15.4 billion cubic meters.

"We see the potential for growth in gas supplies to the Asia-Pacific Region. Work has been intensified to further diversify export infrastructure. To this end, Gazprom , under instruction from the Russian President, is working to accelerate construction on the Far East route, as well as the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline." The development of these projects will attract 4-5 trillion rubles of additional direct investment and 1.5-2 trillion rubles in related industries, such as metallurgy, cement, and chemicals, etc.," Novak said.