Russian gas exports to countries outside the group of former Soviet republics plunged by 45.5% in 2022, figures from the state-run gas giant Gazprom revealed on Monday.

Gazprom said in a statement that exports outside the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) totaled 100.9 billion cubic meters (bcm) compared to 185.1 billion in 2021.

Europe was previously Gazprom's main export market but supplies have been drastically reduced owing to sanctions following Russia's offensive in Ukraine in 2022.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said the company had been steadily increasing supplies to China during the year but did not share details on quantities. "From Jan. 1 we are on a fundamentally new level of gas supplies to China," Miller said in the statement.

President Vladimir Putin inaugurated the Kovykta natural gas field in eastern Siberia last month, which will allow Russia to increase exports to China. Russia does not have pipelines to transport gas from its western Siberian and Arctic gas fields – which have served Europe – to China. But Russia began efforts around a decade ago to develop new fields and build the Power of Siberia pipeline to deliver to the rapidly expanding Chinese market. The first Power of Siberia pipeline went into operation and began shipping gas from eastern Siberia to China at the end of 2019. Moscow plans to build a Power of Siberia 2 pipeline.

At a conference last week, Miller admitted Gazprom had had a "very, very difficult" year. He noted a "total change in the energy markets" driven by sanctions in response to Putin's decision to send troops to Ukraine.

Gazprom accounts for 11% of global natural gas production and has the largest gas reserves in the world.