(Reuters) – Russia’s Gazprom expects about a 4% fall in gas output this year, Deputy Chief Executive Vitaly Markelov told an inhouse magazine on Thursday, in another sign of the impact of sanctions on Russia.
Markelov said the group expected output to fall to 494.4 billion cubic metres (bcm) from 514.8 bcm last year, without elaborating. This would be Gazprom’s lowest production since 2017 when it stood at 471 bcm.
Russia is struggling to weather Western sanctions imposed following the start of what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Gazprom halted gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday in a payments row with Europe, which is trying to wean itself off Russian energy.
Russia’s Economy Ministry expects oil and gas production to fall this year, according to a document seen by Reuters, with gas output declining to 702.4-720.9 bcm from 763.5 bcm in 2021.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Jason Neely)
