The Russian Ministry of Economy has lowered its forecast for natural gas production and exports for 2026.
Reuters reports this with reference to a draft government document that journalists reviewed.
According to the new forecast, Russia will produce 683.1 billion cubic meters of gas this year — 5.3 billion less than expected in May. At the same time, this is more than last year, when production was 662.7 billion cubic meters.
Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports by sea are forecast at 35 million tons, up from 30.3 million tons in 2025. However, this is 5.3 million tons less than the previous forecast. Russia expects LNG exports to also grow in the coming years, but at a slower pace than previously expected.
The revision of forecasts comes against the backdrop of the deterioration of Russiaʼs economic and political relations with the West due to the war against Ukraine and the EUʼs plans to completely stop purchasing Russian gas from next year.
According to Reuters, Russian gas exports to Europe fell by 44% last year to 18 billion cubic meters. For comparison, in 2018-2019, Russia supplied about 180 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe via pipelines per year.
- In May 2022, the EU put forward the REPowerEU proposal to eliminate dependence on Russian gas by 2030 in response to Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- Already in December 2025, the EU announced that it had finally agreed on a plan to stop importing Russian gas by 2027. This will apply to both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.