The consumption of natural gas in the European Union has fluctuated since 1998. It increased to a peak of 423.2 billion cubic meters in 2010, but by 2022 had fallen to around 319.5 billion cubic meters. Natural gas consumption in the EU was only lower than oil consumption, despite the overall decrease. Production of natural gas in decline Although the consumption of natural gas is expected to increase across the region, production in the EU has fallen significantly over the past two decades. By 2021 had fallen by approximately 81 percent. EU reliant on Russian exports With the production of natural gas in decline, the EU is expected to become more reliant on international imports. Overall, there was a six percent increase of imports in 2019 when compared to the previous year. Currently, the main exporter of gas to the EU is Russia, who in 2017 exported 39 percent of all imports. Plans for a 746-mile gas pipeline from Russia to Germany in the Baltic Sea are set to go ahead. The Nord Stream 2 project has received critics from the US and EU over fears it will increase Europe’s reliance on gas imports from Russia.