MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. Europe’s gas market has pulled out of excitement of previous months, returning to ordinary price levels, with rates of abandoning Russian gas surpassing all expectations, Senior Fellow at Moscow State University's Economic Department Alexander Kurdin said.

"Russia’s pipeline supplies fell by around 80 bln cubic meters in 2022 in annual terms (though roughly 5 bln cubic meters were offset due to growth of LNG deliveries from Russia). This does not allow speaking about the European Commission’s tasks being fulfilled so far, turning out slightly greater than experts expected though. However, considering the results of the first months of 2023 the decrease is likely to continue, exceeding 110 bln cubic meters in 2023," InfoTEK analytical center quoted Kurdin as saying.

A sharp drop in consumption in Europe was the largest surprise of the last heating season, meaning the period from October to March, he noted. According to the International Energy Agency’s estimations, virtual consumption in European countries, OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) member states decreased by 16% over the past heating season, or by 55 bln cubic meters.