According to Russian gas giant Gazprom, gas exports to France grew by 58% over the last 5 years, reaching 12.9 bcm/year in 2018, an increase of 5.4% compared with 2017 (12.3 bcm/year). Russian gas imports to European countries are soaring and Gazprom's gas exports to Europe hit a new record in 2018 at nearly 202 bcm (+3.8%). The company claims a 37% share in gas pipeline imports on the European market in 2018. German gas demand soared by 9.5% in 2018 to 58.5 bcm, a figure larger than the aggregate capacity of the NordStream interconnection gas pipeline.
Gazprom also produced nearly 498 bcm (+5.7%) of natural gas in 2018. The third gas production facility at Bovanenkovskoye, the main field in the Yamal Peninsula with gas reserves totalling 4,900 bcm, went onstream in 2018 and reached its design production capacity of 115 bcm (production capacity of 317 mcm/d in winter).