ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/. Russia’s gas production is currently 8-10% below the forecast, Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov said in an interview with Izvestia on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"We are guided by forecasts envisioned by the social and economic development outlook. Today we see that production is 8-10% lower than the outlook," he said.

Meanwhile, the country will boost its LNG production in 2023 to 32 mln tons from 30 mln tons in the previous year, the minister added.

"On liquified gas we roughly target the figures suggested by the [socio-economic development] outlook, growth by 1-2 mln tons to around 32 mln tons on LNG compared with 30 mln [tons] last year," he said.

Earlier, the Energy Ministry said that Russia’s gas export went down by 30.7% in 2022 to 170.6 bln cubic meters. Gas production in the country fell by 11.7% last year to 673.8 bln cubic meters. That said, the ministry expects gas production to continue decreasing this year due to the fact that European consumers are abandoning the Russian gas and it is hardly possible to redirect gas flows immediately.

The 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) - Russia’s showcase annual economic and business event - is being held on June 14-17. 'Sovereign Development as the Basis of a Just World: Joining Forces for Future Generations' is theme of this year’s forum. TASS is the official information partner of the event.