Russia’s Gazprom saw its international gas sales in the second quarter slide by 17% year on year to 44.9 Bcm, according to an analysis of data published in the company’s Q2 report.

The drop was of the same magnitude as in Q1 when sales were also down by 17% on the back of a second consecutive mild winter and robust storage stocks.

The data are also in line with Gazprom’s projections for gas sales in the Far Abroad (Europe plus Turkey and China, but minus the countries of the former Soviet Union) in 2020 as a whole of 166-167 Bcm, around 17% lower than supplies last year of 199.3 Bcm.

The fall in sales in Q2 was driven in part by the demand impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which triggered the most serious lockdowns and economic disruption across Europe in April and May.