Russia's pipeline gas exports to Europe fall by 44% to the lowest in decades

By Oksana Kobzeva

MOSCOW, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Russia's pipeline gas exports to Europe sank by 44% in 2025 to their lowest since the mid-1970s, following the closure of the Ukrainian route and as the European Union phases out fossil fuel imports from Russia, Reuters calculations showed on Tuesday.

The EU has said it will cease importing Russian gas by the end of 2027, as part of it effort to overcome the bloc's dependency on Russian energy and to withhold funds that could be used for its military campaign in Ukraine.

Previously, Europe was Russia's biggest source of budget revenues from oil and gas sales, on the basis of pipelines that were built from the Soviet Union to western Europe in the 1960s and 1970s.

Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe peaked at more than 175-180 billion cubic metres per year in 2018-2019 - and were worth tens of billions for Gazprom and the Russian state that holds a controlling stake in the company. 

UKRAINE CHOSE NOT TO RENEW TRANSIT DEAL

But this year, Gazprom's supplies totalled just 18 bcm and were sent through the TurkStream undersea pipeline, according to Reuters calculations based on data from European gas transmission group Entsog.

That is the lowest level since the early 1970s.

According to Gazprom data, the Soviet Union supplied 19.3 bcm to Europe in 1975, up from 6.8 bcm in 1973, in the early years of Siberian gas exports. 

Gazprom did not respond to a request for comment.

TurkStream is the only Russian gas transit route left to Europe after Ukraine chose not to extend a five-year transit deal with Moscow that expired on January 1.

Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia are among the countries that receive gas via TurkStream in addition to Turkey.

Russia also exports gas to Europe in the liquefied form by tankers and is the EU's second-largest supplier after the United States.

In December alone, supplies via the TurkStream to Europe increased by 12.9% from the year-earlier month to around 56 million cubic metres per day. It was also up 3% from November, the data showed.

Exports via TurkStream to Europe have increased by around 7% this year from 16.8 bcm in 2024, the data showed. Together with the Ukrainian route, the exports amounted to 32 bcm in 2024, up 13% from 2023.

Gazprom's exports to Turkey amount to around 20 bcm per year.

(Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Barbara Lewis)