At a company meeting to discuss the preliminary results for the year, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller said that he believes the EU is intentionally deindustrializing in order to destroy its demand for natural gas.

The chief executive said, “We are well aware of the situation in Europe, where they have taken an unprecedented step. There, for the first time in history demand for natural gas, a primary energy source, is being artificially destroyed.”

He noted that some EU states are being forced to deindustrialize, as part of an official policy to eliminate the usage of natural gas, which he noted was one of the most environmentally friendly sources of energy.

Miller went on to point out that it is expected that the demand for gas globally will increase by 43% over the coming 25 years. He added that the energy giant is ready, as it has redirected its trade relationships, forging closer ties and greater cooperation with nations which are interested in purchasing the energy their populations need.

He added that Gazprom has a long relationship with Asia.

Miller said, “The volume of gas supplies to China in 2023 will be over 22.5 billion cubic meters, exceeding the contractual obligations by 500 million cubic meters.”  He added that East Asian nations are expected to receive as much as 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Gazprom.

In 2014, Gazprom sealed a $400 billion, 30 year deal with the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to supply natural gas to the Asian nation. As part of the deal, the nations constructed the Power of Siberia pipeline, which it is expected will allow Russia to supply China with 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, including a planned transit pipeline through Mongolia.

Previously, Russia was in a lucrative relationship with the EU, supplying cheap pipeline gas to the bloc. However following the onset of the war in Ukraine, sanctions reduced the flow of gas through the primary means of delivering the gas, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, by preventing maintenance of the line, before flows were cut off entirely by a sabotage bombing of the undersea segments of the line. Since then Russia has redirected its trade relationships, shipping most of its energy products to Asia, where China is now its largest importer.