According to reports, record gas inventories in northwestern Europe and Italy are weakening the region’s hunger for Gazprom’s products. Compared to competitors, the Russian gas giant has lost ground in selling natural gas to the region More advantages.

According to data compiled by Reuters and Refinitiv, Gazprom’s natural gas exports to the region declined, causing its share of the European natural gas market to fall by 4 percentage points in the first half of 2020, from 38% a year ago to 34% now.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs of the Russian Federation, in the first five months of this year, Gazprom’s natural gas export revenue fell by 52.6% to 9.7 billion US dollars. Its natural gas shipments fell 23% to 73 billion cubic meters.

Gazprom’s natural gas export prices in May fell from US$109 per thousand cubic meters to US$94 per thousand cubic meters last month. Its total export revenue in May was US$1.1 billion, a 15% decrease from April.

High inventories pushed natural gas prices to record lows and affected producers everywhere, including the United States. Due to the decline in natural gas consumption due to the coronavirus pandemic, US production is expected to decline by 3.2% this year.

According to the materials provided by the Central Dispatch Office of the Gazprom, the natural gas production in Russia from January to June this year fell 9.7% year-on-year to 340.08 billion cubic meters, and in June it was 47.697 billion cubic meters.