By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

When the breakup between Russia and the European Union began earlier this year, one of the reasons for the severity of the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the assumption that Russia could not afford for its gas exports to drop.

The assumption was an enduring one for oil and gas both. A number of analysts toured the media, arguing that if production at an oil or gas field is suspended, this field eventually risks becoming unproductive forever.

While this is a valid argument overall, Gazprom appears to have found a way to avoid permanent loss of gas production, and it's not flaring, either. In fact, flaring in Russia—a major "flarer"—is down.