Russian energy giant Gazprom has announced a second major drop in the amounts of gas it is intending to extract in 2015.
Gazprom official Vsevolod Cherpanov told reporters that latest projections for this year envisage 450 billion cubic meters, some 35.6 bcm less than what had been initially planned.
Despite the gloomy forecast, mostly related to the gradual depletion of some deposits, Gazprom hopes it will boost profit through increased supplies.
"We are pinning our hopes on a cold winter in Europe," Interfax quoted Cherepanov as saying.
Earlier in May, the company suggested new volumes of gas would amount to 471 bcm in 2015.
The new figure is slightly higher than the one for 2014 (444 bcm) and considerably lower than the 2013 bcm of gas extracted in 2013.