Gazprom exec: Only Russia can meet Europe’s demand for gas

MOSCOW, Aug 29 (PRIME) -- No country except Russia will be able to meet Europe’s demand for gas imports, Viktor Zubkov, chairman of gas giant Gazprom’s board of directors, told Rossiya 24 television channel late Tuesday.

Many European countries are boosting gas imports from Russia despite the current geopolitical situation, he said. Austria raised gas imports by 44%, the Netherlands by 48%, Germany is also increasing the imports.

“We believe that Gazprom will supply even more than 200 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe this year, this will be a new record, a new achievement,” he said.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Europe’s additional demand for gas imports will amount to 77 billion cubic meters by 2025 and 130 billion cubic meters by 2035.

“So who can supply this gas besides Russia? Those companies which receive our gas in Europe understand it, there are plenty of them. These are companies in Germany, Austria, Italy, and in other countries,” Zubkov said.

He also said that Ukraine should raise reliability of its gas transport system to ensure stable supplies to European countries.

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