- Russia plans to cut its natural gas exports by 40% over the next three years, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.
- Senior European officials have accused Moscow of trying to stoke the continent's energy crisis.
Russia plans to slash its natural gas exports via pipeline by around 40% over the next three years, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.
Moscow will cut gas exports to around 125.2 billion cubic meters in 2023-2025, potentially exacerbating Europe's energy crisis. That's down from an estimated 142 billion cubic meters this year.
While the draft budget viewed by Bloomberg doesn't break down flows by different export markets, historic data and current gas flows point to China becoming the second-largest buyer of Russian pipeline gas due to a deal to supply around 21 billion cubic meters through the Power of Siberia pipeline. Meanwhile, Turkey is likely to become the largest client.
State-run energy giant Gazprom has choked off gas supplies to Europe in recent months, slashing the capacity of Nord Stream 1 to 20% in July and then shuttering the pipeline entirely last month.
Senior European Union officials have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "weaponizing" energy flows in a bid to stoke the continent's energy crisis.
Dutch TTF natural gas futures have soared 120% to 186 euros per megawatt hour since the start of June as Moscow cuts supplies, while the euro has plummeted 8.5% against the dollar in the same time span to fall below parity with the greenback.