Gazprom Group announced on Sunday that shipments of Russian gas to the European Union and Turkey fell sharply between January and April compared to the same period last year, while shipments to China rose.
The Russian state group announced in a statement that “exports to countries outside the Commonwealth of Independent States (the European Union and Turkey) amounted to 50.1 billion cubic meters, or 26.9% less than in the same period in 2021.”
Gazprom said it would continue to supply gas “in full compliance with contractual obligations”.
During the same period, the gas giant indicated that its production declined by 2.5 percent within one year to 175.4 billion cubic meters.
Also, deliveries to the local market decreased by 3.7 percent “especially due to the hot weather in February”.
On the other hand, exports to China increased by 60% in a year through the Power of Siberia pipeline.
Gazprom also reported that gas reserves in European underground storage facilities amounted to 6.9 billion cubic meters.
“To achieve the target of 90% filling storage facilities set by the European Union, companies will have to pump an additional 56 billion cubic meters of gas,” Gazprom said.
The group stressed that “re-establishing gas reserves in underground facilities in Europe represents a very serious challenge,” stressing that the daily delivery capacity has technical limits and that “the total amount of gas available in the European market depends on demand in the emerging Asian market.”
Energy prices are rising in Europe because the European Union has not yet decided to impose an oil and gas embargo on Russia.
In 2021, Gazprom recorded a record net profit that increased thirteen times in a year to 2,159 billion rubles (approximately 28 billion euros at the current price), driven by a significant increase in demand for hydrocarbons.
(AFP)
