Gazprom expects its gas exports to Europe and Turkey to remain at around 190 Bcm/year in the future, deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev according Platts said on January 30, 2018, dismissing suggestions the record high level of 193.9 bcm from last year was a one-off.
Gazprom supplied record levels of gas to the Far Abroad (Europe plus Turkey, but not the countries of the former Soviet Union) last year due to strong European demand in the power sector, periods of cold weather and the need to refill European storage stocks.
In January 2017, Gazprom's supplies to Europe hit repeated record highs as cold weather gripped the continent. This year, temperatures have been considerably milder in January, and supplies to Turkey and Europe are down by 3% year-on-year, Medvedev said. But, he stressed, January deliveries were 8% higher than the monthly level in 2016.
Alexander Medvedev said Europe's appetite for high storage stocks was also boosting demand for Russian gas. «We consider underground storage as an important factor and we are also developing storage abroad,» he said.
He said Gazprom had 5 Bcm of storage capacity in Europe, plus its 100%-owned subsidiary Wingas had an additional 5 Bcm. Gazprom wants to have storage capacity in the future of 10% of its exports, implying a target of almost 20 Bcm of either owned or booked capacity.
Author: Stuart Elliott
