Russia's natural gas production fell 20.2% in the first seven months of the year to 315.933 billion cubic meters, including 41.418 billion cubic meters in July, the news agency Interfax reported Monday, citing Ministry of Industry and Energy statistics.
State-controlled OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), the world's biggest producer of natural gas, produced 32.135 billion cubic meters in July, while output for the seven month period totaled 248.916 billion.
Russia's biggest independent gas producer OAO Novatek (NVTK.RS) produced 2.588 billion cubic meters in July and 18.484 billion cubic meters for the year.