How Gazprom gases with China, Turkey and the EU
Gazprom's gas exports to Europe and Turkey increase. The Russian company signs a supply agreement with Hungary which marginalizes Ukraine. Here are numbers and details
Gazprom, the Russian energy company behind the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, said its natural gas exports to non-CIS countries (i.e. non-CIS countries, the organization of nine former Soviet republics) they grew by 19.4 percent in the period January-August 2021, compared to last year.
THE NUMBERS OF GAZPROM
The total volume of exports amounts to 131.3 billion cubic meters.
In the first eight months of 2021, Gazprom produced 337.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas: an increase of 17.9 percent compared to the same period last year.
THE DESTINATIONS
Gas supplies increased the most were those to Romania (+344 per cent), Turkey (+173.6) and Serbia (123.9). Flows to Bulgaria (+50.9 per cent), Germany (+39.3), Finland (+22.7), Italy (+15), Greece (+15) were also significant. 8) and Poland (+12).
Gas exports to China are also increasing through the Power of Siberia pipeline. Supplies destined for the Russian domestic market, on the other hand, grew by almost 11 per cent, reaching 15.6 billion cubic meters.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRADE WITH EUROPE
The latest figures released by Gazprom are consistent with those relating to the first seven months of 2021 (January-July), when the Russian company's exports to Europe – including Turkey – recorded a growth of 23.2 percent on a basis annual, for a total volume of 115.3 billion cubic meters. However, this is a lower value than the record reached in 2018.
Between January and July, Gazprom's exports went mainly to Romania (+318.3 per cent), Turkey (+203.9), Serbia (+118.1), Bulgaria (+47), Germany (+42.2), Greece (+18.8), Italy (+16.2), Poland (+14.6) and France (+6).
THE MOVE OF GAZPROM
However, the specialized site OilPrice pointed out that – despite the significant recovery of gas demand in Europe from the pandemic crisis, and the maintenance work on the gas pipelines that pass through the north – Gazprom has not guaranteed further access capacity to the Vecchio market. mainland through Ukraine.
Analysts have given themselves two explanations. The first is that Gazprom wants to limit the availability of gas on the European market in order to profit as much as possible from the sharp increase in the prices of this fuel. The second is that the supply limitation is a geopolitical move to underline the importance of Nord Stream 2 – which bypasses Ukraine, connecting Russia and Germany directly – for Europe.
COMMENT BY FRANCESCO SASSI (UNIVERSITY OF PISA, ISPI)
Commenting on the data reported by Gazprom in the second quarter of 2021, analyst Francesco Sassi – PhD at the University of Pisa and ISPI collaborator – wrote on Twitter that "Gazprom's financial results say a lot about how profitable it has become for the Russia to trade in gas with European partners in the current market conditions ”.
Compared to the second quarter of 2020, Gazprom's net profit grew by 350 percent: 521 billion rubles against 149. This is, writes Sassi, the highest result recorded by Gazprom in the last nine quarters and the second highest in absolute.
THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN GAZPROM AND HUNGARY
Meanwhile, Gazprom yesterday reached an agreement in principle on gas supplies for the next ten years with the Hungarian government, although a formal agreement has not yet been signed.
The flows will amount to 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year for ten years, starting next October 1st; the possibility of an extension of the terms for another five years is envisaged. The new contract will replace the current one, which expired at the end of August, which consisted of lower supplies of 4.2 million cubic meters per year, writes Argus .
Hungary will receive Gazprom gas from Serbia and, to a lesser extent, from Austria. Until now, Hungary received Russian gas mainly from Ukraine, but things are about to change given the imminent entry into service of the Serbia-Hungary gas pipeline.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/gazprom-esportazioni-gennaio-agosto-2021/ on Wed, 01 Sep 2021 14:08:10 +0000.