The Russian energy giant Gazprom reported Dec. 18 that natural gas consumption in Europe has dropped to 1996 levels, according to a report in TASS. “Crisis phenomena were most clearly manifested in the European gas market, where the artificial destruction of natural gas demand takes place for the first time in the history of the global energy industry. According to preliminary estimates, gas consumption in non-CIS European countries dropped by 34 billion cubic meters and is at the 1996 year level,” Gazprom said.