MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects a decline in gas demand in the Middle East in 2026, the first such drop in 33 years, due to the military conflict.

"In the Middle East, where local gas production and processing facilities have been damaged and the output of gas-intensive industries such as fertilizer production has decreased, gas demand is projected to contract by around 4% in 2026 - the region’s first annual decline in consumption since 1993," the agency said in its Gas Market Report.

Thus, gas demand in Middle Eastern countries could amount to 615 bln cubic meters (bcm) in 2026, down from 641 bcm in 2025.