MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. Russia reduced its gas production by 3% in 2025 to 663 bln cubic meters, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on the gas market.

After the sharp decline recorded in 2022 and 2023, Russia’s natural gas production increased by 7% (or 47 bln cubic meters) in 2024, driven by a combination of higher domestic demand (up 5%) and increased exports of natural gas (to both China and Europe), the report said. In 2025, this trend reversed: according to preliminary data, Russia’s natural gas production declined by 3% (or 22 bln cubic meters) amid weaker domestic demand and reduced exports.

As a result, production in 2025 totaled 663 bln cubic meters, compared with 685 bln cubic meters a year earlier, the IEA said. Gas supplies to Russia’s domestic market also fell by nearly 3%, to 506 bln cubic meters. This decline was observed mainly in the Q1 of 2025 due to lower temperatures last winter. In addition, gas use in industry and the power sector declined.

In 2026, the IEA forecasts that Russia’s gas production will increase by 3.6% to 687 bln cubic meters. Consumption is expected to rise to 527 bln cubic meters. At the same time, the IEA’s earlier forecast for 2026 had projected a significantly higher level of gas production in Russia, at 708 bln cubic meters.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that in 2024 Russia increased gas production by 7.6% to 685 bln cubic meters, driven by export growth and rising domestic demand, as well as the development of petrochemicals. He had also stated that Russia intended to increase gas output in 2025. According to Rosstat data for the first 11 months of last year, Russia reduced total gas production (natural gas and associated petroleum gas) by 3.3% compared with the same period a year earlier, to 600 bln cubic meters.

According to the forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development, gas production in Russia in 2025 will decline to 680.2 bln cubic meters (versus the previously expected 695.4 bln cubic meters), will amount to 690.4 bln cubic meters in 2026 (previous forecast: 709.1 bln cubic meters), 712.8 bln cubic meters in 2027 (previous forecast: 729.7 bln cubic meters), and 739.9 bln cubic meters in 2028 (previous forecast: 750.9 bln cubic meters).