The pace of Gazprom’s natural gas exports’ growth to Europe has slowed in recent months to just under five percent, according to data published by the Kremlin-backed gas giant yesterday. Gazprom revealed its natural gas exports outside the former Soviet Union bloc between January and December had increased 4.8 percent year-on-year to 178.1 billion cubic meters. The figures are a stark contrast from double-digit increases seen earlier this year. The company previously reported 26 percent for the first half of the year and 19.4 percent growth for January – August with shortages emerging over the autumn. Russia’s natural gas exports have been a bitter point of contention amid soaring gas prices, supply shortages, and energy storage issues across European economies this winter. The deepening energy crisis has even led to warnings of potential blackouts this winter . Gazprom said the decline reflected the demand in the region and expected […]