Gazprom reduces gas supplies to EU via Ukraine

Russia's Gazprom announced on Tuesday that it is reducing natural gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine as the current transit contract approaches its expiration.

That's according to Reuters, Ukrinform reports.

Gazprom stated it would deliver 37.2 million cubic meters of gas via Ukraine on December 31, down from 42.4 million cubic meters on December 30.

In 2023, Russia delivered about 15 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe via Ukraine (almost 41 million cubic meters of gas per day).

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Russia and the former Soviet Union spent half a century building up a major share of the European gas market, which at its peak stood at around 35%, but the war in Ukraine has all but destroyed that business for Gazprom.

Currently, most of Russia's gas routes to Europe are shut down, including the Yamal-Europe pipeline through Belarus and the Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea, which was sabotaged in 2022. If gas transit through Ukraine ceases on January 1, Gazprom risks losing an estimated $5 billion in annual sales via this route.