Gazprom’s non-CIS gas exports exceed peak winter figures on Wed

MOSCOW, Aug 9 (PRIME) – Gas giant Gazprom’s exports to non-CIS countries amounted to 562 million cubic meters on Wednesday, which exceeds the peak figures for the 2015–2016 winter period, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told reporters.

“Currently, the volumes of our exports to Europe have once again showed great dynamics. Daily volumes of exports of Russian gas to non-CIS countries in early August are comparable to winter days. On August 9, daily loading of gas export capacities stood at 562 million cubic meters, which exceeds the peak figure for the 2015–2016 winter period that amounted to 539 million cubic meters that season,” he said.

The loading of capacities of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline has exceeded 90% on Tuesday, and the OPAL pipeline has reached its full capacity, he said.

“In the period from August 1 through August 8, loading of the OPAL pipeline by Gazprom increased 30%. Today, the pipeline has reached its full capacity. Daily gas pumping to the Greifswald gas measuring station reached 140 million cubic meters on August 8, which means that utilization of Nord Stream exceeded 90% of the projected capacity,” he said.

“And this happened in the summer! This shows high demand for the export route and its extension – the OPAL pipeline. Full loading of the pipeline is an objective market necessity of our European clients.”

Under the third energy package, Gazprom has access to half of the OPAL capacities, or to 12.8 billion cubic meters. The European Commission decided in October 2016 that Gazprom will retain its right to use half of the pipeline’s capacity and will be given admission to auctions for another 40%. In December, Poland’s PGNiG challenged the decision saying it is a threat to safety of gas supplies to the E.U.

In December, the European Court of Justice suspended the commission’s decision and requested the commission and PGNiG provide additional data on the possible impact from Gazprom’s access to OPAL. But in July 2017, the Higher Regional Court of Dusseldorf and the European Court of Justice lifted an interlocutory injunction restricting Gazprom’s wider access to OPAL.

Miller added that Gazprom is using all export routes to full extent due to high demand for Russian gas in the E.U.

He also said that the condition of the Ukrainian gas transportation system cannot guarantee reliable transit of gas to the E.U. in the mid-term or in the long run.

Previously, Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Igor Nasalik said that Ukrtransgaz, operator of the local gas transportation system, may not be technically ready to pump gas because Naftogaz Ukrainy was unwilling to invest in the system.

“We have been talking about that for a long time. The Ukrainian gas transportation system is in such a state that no one is able to guarantee reliable gas transit to the European consumers via the Ukrainian corridor in the mid-term and in the long-run,” Miller said.

“Our European partners are well aware of that. The Ukrainian side has acknowledged that at last. And it publicly announced possible problems with the transit due to low investment in the gas transportation system. This once again proves that we absolutely need additional modern and efficient export routes to ensure reliable provision of Russian gas to European countries.”

End