Daily gas production by Russia’s Gazprom fell in July to its lowest level since 2008, data showed, amid lingering fears that Moscow could trigger an energy crisis in Europe by cutting off supplies. Guardian.

Gazprom, a state-owned company at the behest of PutinPhoto: Gazprom

The state-owned power company pumped 774 million cubic meters per day last month, down 14 percent from June, according to a Bloomberg analysis of data released Monday.

According to him, the total production of the Russian natural gas export monopolist for the whole year amounted to 262.4 billion cubic meters, which is 12% less than in the same period last year.

The production slowdown comes amid worsening relations between Russia and the European Union after Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine in late February.

The Kremlin-controlled business last week cut gas supplies to the continent’s main pipeline to Europe, Nord Stream 1, to just 20% of capacity.

Gazprom claimed it was due to maintenance problems with its turbines, but European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said there were “no justifiable technical reasons” for the cuts.

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