Gas production in Russia may increase due to the development of new export directions

Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper on the current state and prospects of the Russian gas industry.

Gas production is growing because its consumption is increasing, Alexey Belogoryev explained. According to him, Russia now has a large amount of spare production capacity and the ability to produce as much gas as it needs. Therefore, the level of production depends almost entirely on demand. And it's growing up.

"The first reason is the growth of domestic consumption due to the weather factor: in recent years there have been more cold days in winter and more hot days in summer. Secondly, economic growth continues in our country, which gives an increase in gas consumption. And the third is social gasification," the expert listed. - Prices, at the same time, remain quite low - the wholesale cost of natural gas in Russia is around $ 70 per thousand cubic meters. This level is more or less comfortable for industry, so there is no incentive to reduce consumption."

"This country to become a net gas importer since 2025," Alexey Belogoryev said. - Kazakhstan will continue to export gas to China, because it benefits from it - the export price is higher than imports. But its domestic consumption is growing and commodity production is relatively stagnating. Therefore, Kazakhstan has the prospect of increasing gas imports - according to some estimates, up to 10-12 billion cubic meters per year."