© Archyde.com. Gazprom: Russian gas exports fall to lowest level in three months
Gazprom’s average daily exports to major foreign buyers fell to the lowest in three months since April due to warmer weather and lower natural gas market prices level.
Gazprom said on Friday (April 15) that according to preliminary statistics, from January 1 to April 15, 2022, Gazprom extracted a total of 155.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas, a decrease of 1.3% from the same period last year.
Affected by the warm weather in February this year, Gazprom’s supply to the Russian domestic market has decreased by 3.9 billion cubic meters this year, a year-on-year decrease of 3.6%. Natural gas exports to non-CIS countries were 44.6 billion cubic meters, a year-on-year decrease of 26.4% or 16 billion cubic meters.
So far, the average daily export volume in April is 406.7 million cubic meters, down 17.6% from the same period in March.
“The lack of a drop in Russian gas flows, rising LNG imports and the lack of threats to cut supply by Russian President Vladimir Putin have led to the European benchmark TTF Netherlands,” said Vinicius Romano, an analyst at Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy, in a research note earlier this week. Natural gas prices have fallen sharply recently.”
In addition, the natural gas “pumping season” for European underground gas storages ended on March 19. Over the past winter, Europe pulled 51 billion cubic meters of natural gas from underground gas storage.
The EU relies on Russia for 40% of its natural gas, making it difficult for the EU to stop buying Russian gas immediately. However, the bloc is trying to take steps to reduce its reliance on Russian gas as EU governments begin to assess other sources of supply.
Moscow has demanded so-called “unfriendly” countries pay for gas in rubles from April, putting additional pressure on its customers to find alternative supplies as the Kremlin has threatened to cut off gas buyers who refuse to meet its demands export.
Gazprom said it will continue to supply gas at the request of consumers and fully meet its contractual obligations. The European Commission plans to boost the continent’s natural gas reserves to 90% by the start of winter, which means 63 billion cubic meters of gas will need to be reinjected.
