Russian energy giant Gazprom decided to reduce its investment program by 11% in 2019, according to the company's board of directors meeting minutes released on Tuesday, which includes the draft budget for next year. The firm intends to narrow its investment budget compared to the adjusted investment program of 2018 but still plans on increasing it by 3.6% more than initially planned for 2019.
According to Gazprom's budget, the company also plans on reducing its external financial borrowings by 42% next year compared to 2018.
However, the company remains the leading investor in the Nord Stream 2 project which is agreed between Gazprom and five European companies including the Austrian energy giant OMV. The project, a major point of contempt between the United States and its European allies, is expected to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas annually to the EU through the Baltic Sea and Germany.