Russia Natural Gas Output Jumps to Record in Expansion Drive
January 2, 2018
Russia's natural gas production rose to its highest ever last year, driven by increasing sales to Europe and rising domestic demand.
Government data published Tuesday showed that output jumped 7.9 percent to beat a 2011 record. With a pipeline of projects including plans to expand into China and new liquefied natural gas plants, the country may close the gap on the U.S., which leapfrogged Russia to the top spot in global production of the fuel nine years ago.
Russia needs to strengthen its position in the global gas market as it’s considered a leading global energy power, President Vladimir Putin said last month. Already the world’s largest exporter of the fuel, the nation is working to boost output with new LNG plants stretching from the Baltic region to the Pacific coast. That will pit the country against the biggest producers of the super-chilled fuel, including Qatar and Australia.
Russia is also working to keep shipments to Europe near record levels this year as state-run Gazprom PJSC, the continent's biggest supplier, plans to start pipeline exports to China in late 2019. Gazprom meets more than a third of Europe's demand for natural gas and the nation's most lucrative market was worth some $37 billion in revenue last year.
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