Russia’s daily gas exports to its key foreign clients so far in June have slumped to the lowest since at least 2014, as issues with the Nord Stream pipeline and Gazprom PJSC’s decision to halt supplies to several buyers curbed shipments.

Gazprom exported an average of 307 million cubic meters a day to countries outside the former Soviet Union in the first 15 days of June, down 13% from May, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data published Wednesday. 

So far this year, the gas giant has shipped 65.6 billion cubic meters to key foreign clients, a drop of 29% from the same period a year earlier. Gazprom has reiterated that it is supplying gas in line with confirmed requests from clients.

The state-run company said Tuesday that it will reduce flows toward the Nord Stream pipeline, a key gas route for supplying Europe, by 40% compared to its initial plan as Germany’s Siemens Energy AG had failed to return some pumping equipment to the link’s entry point after repair works. The German firm confirmed the failure, saying the equipment could not be shipped back from Canada due to sanctions imposed on Russia.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Wednesday that he believes Gazprom’s decision to cut gas flows through Nord Stream was “politically motivated” and not due to technical issues as the Russian company stated.

Supply Halts

Eni SpA also said Wednesday that Gazprom has cut gas supplies to Italy, citing a communication from the Russian company. The reduction amounts to about 15% of total flows from Russia to Italy, an Eni spokesperson said. Gazprom didn’t provide any reason for the decision.

Gazprom has halted gas deliveries to clients in Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark, as well as supplies to Germany under a contract with Shell Energy Europe, after the companies declined to comply with President Vladimir Putin’s demand to pay for the fuel in rubles. The Kremlin said earlier that it doesn’t expect any further supply cutoffs because all its remaining clients have complied with the ruble-payment demand. 

Europe and Turkey combined are the single-largest market for Russian pipeline gas, and last year Gazprom deliveries met 30% of the region’s demand for the fuel. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union is working to reduce its dependence on supplies from Moscow, and the Kremlin’s switch to rubles is speeding up this transition.

Separately, Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine have been curtailed since May 11 after the Sokhranovka cross-border point, also known as Sokhranivka in Ukrainian, was put out of service amid military actions in the eastern part of the country. 

Gazprom’s daily gas production so far in June has averaged 973 million cubic meters, a decline of more than 16% from May, according to Bloomberg calculations. It’s also the lowest daily average since August 2016, the data shows. The Russian gas giant has pumped 226 billion cubic meters of the fuel since the start of 2022, down 6.4% from a year ago.