Compared to pre-war levels in January and February, Russia's shipped crude exports from June 1-15 rose by 576,000 b/d to average about 3.88 million b/d,

European nations have for months feared Russian supply cuts in retaliation for sanctions aimed at Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

According to preliminary data, Gazprom produced 226 billion cubic meters of gas from January 1 through June 15, 2022. This is a decrease of 6.4 per cent (or 15.5 billion cubic meters) versus the same period of last year.

The decline in overall export volumes is mainly due to lower oil-product flows, while Russian crude shipped in May grew nearly by 500,000 barrels a day compared to the start of the year, mainly thanks to higher deliveries to Asia.

Cuts to Russian supplies in recent months and fears of further curbs have prompted European energy companies to go hunting for new sources of gas to refill storage ahead of the winter.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party alliance agreed at the end of March to cut the levy on fuel for three months from June 1 by 30 euro cents per liter for gasoline and 14 cents for diesel, costing the government about 3 billion euros ($3.1 billion) in lost revenue.

In the wake of its decision in March to end all nuclear fuel purchases from Russia, Energoatom has agreed to increase the supply of Westinghouse nuclear fuel for all Ukrainian NPPs including those already operating and those planned.

Germany advised people to defrost their freezers regularly, change shower heads and switch office lighting to LEDs as the government tries to reduce a reliance on imported Russian energy that’s become a political liability.

"This problem can be solved -- insuring supplies can be secured by using state guarantees within the framework of interstate agreements with third countries," Medvedev said.

Russia's Gazprom said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 40.1 million cubic metres (mcm) on Monday, unchanged from 40.1 mcm on Sunday.

UAE-based Masdar will pursue the development of 4 GW of wind, solar and green hydrogen projects in Azerbaijan under a wider plan envisaging 10 GW of renewable energy capacity in the former Soviet republic.

Representatives from several European countries, including Romania, Serbia, Hungary and Italy travelled to Azerbaijan to discuss growing demand for gas in early June, in light of recent Gazprom cut offs and the threat that further sanctions could hit gas imports.

"The EU's decisions to partially phase out Russian oil and oil products, as well as to ban the insurance of Russian merchant ships, are highly likely to provoke further price increases, destabilize energy markets, and disrupt supply chains," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Another group of officials, many based at Janet Yellen’s Treasury Department, worry about further strains on a global economy already suffering from supply-chain woes, inflation, volatile oil prices and a potential food crisis.

Gas exports to the countries beyond the FSU amounted to 61 billion cubic meters, which is 27.6 per cent (or 23.2 billion cubic meters) lower than the figure for the same period of 2021.