Russia’s Gas Production, Exports Shrink Under Sanctions Pressure

Russia’s energy exports have faced pressure from international sanctions and efforts by Europe—which has long been a top consumer of Russian gas—to limit purchases and the prices paid to Russia for oil and gas.

Mr. Novak also said the production and export of liquefied natural gas, which is sent by ship, will have grown by more than 8.7% by year’s end.

Mr. Novak said separately on Friday that Russia could cut oil output in response to the Western price caps instituted earlier this month, reducing its oil production by 500,000 to 700,000 barrels a day—which he said was a 5% to 7% reduction in capacity—by early next year.

Russian President

Vladimir Putin

is expected to sign a decree this week on Moscow’s response to Western oil-price caps, which seek to deplete the Kremlin’s war chest. The European Union and the U.K. have also banned seaborne shipments of Russian crude.

Russian officials have downplayed the impact of the price ceilings and other sanctions on Russia’s oil-and-gas sector, the lifeblood of the country’s economy.

Mr. Novak, a one-time energy minister, told TASS that despite the fact that this year turned out to be extremely difficult for the Russian fuel and energy complex, in the end it wasn’t so dismal.

Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Russian authorities have stopped publishing data on trade statistics, including for oil and gas production, in an effort to protect the economy and domestic companies from further sanctions. The change complicates independent verification of Moscow’s statements that it has been able to sanctions-proof its economy.

In January, the last time data was available, natural-gas exports totaled $9.5 billion and…