Gazprom Has 1st Loss In Decades As Europe's Russian Gas Demand Drops 32 Percent

Sanctions-driven drops in demand from Europe and other markets as well as Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries has caused Russia's Gazprom to report a loss for the first time in decades, damaging Russia's primary source of foreign exchange. JL 

Rachel Amran reports in the Kyiv Independent:

The state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom reported a net loss of 629 billion rubles (nearly $6.9 billion) in 2023, the company's largest profit downturn in decades amidst falling gas prices and a limited European market. Revenue from gas sales fell by 40% in one year. Since the start of the invasion, the European Union has set the goal of weaning itself off from Russian gas supplies. The European market, previously Gazprom's major source of revenue, has been successful in securing alternatives to Russian gas. Russia's share of European gas imports has dropped from 40% in 2021, the last full year before the invasion, to only 8% in 2023. 

The state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom reported a net loss of 629 billion rubles (nearly $6.9 billion) in 2023, the company's largest profit downturn in decades amidst falling gas prices and a limited European market.

Gazprom published its international earnings report on May 2, revealing $6.84 billion in net losses in 2023, compared to a net income of 1.23 trillion rubles (about $13 billion) in 2022. Revenue from gas sales fell by 40% in one year, the report shows.

Gazprom's 2023 losses represent the company's first report of annual net loss since 1999, according to Bloomberg.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the European Union has set the goal of weaning itself off from Russian gas supplies. The European market, previously Gazprom's major source of revenue, has been somewhat successful in securing alternatives to Russian gas.

According to the Financial Times, Russia's share of European gas imports has dropped from 40% in 2021, the last full year before the invasion, to only 8% in 2023.  

In seeking new markets, Russia has been forced to export natural gas at reduced prices. The Russian Economy Ministry published a report earlier this month setting gas exports' price to China at $257 per 1,000 cubic meters compared with $320.30 for Western markets.