Gazprom’s daily gas exports are at their lowest level since 2015

The Russian giant Gazprom’s daily gas exports to its main markets shrank in the first fortnight of the new year to their lowest level since 2015, amid growing criticism that it is holding back gas supplies to Europe.

The Russian giant exported 5.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas to its key markets, which include most of Europe, Turkey and China, the company said on Monday. That volume equates to an average daily flow of 360 million cubic meters and is almost 18% lower than last month’s average, according to Bloomberg estimates based on Gazprom announcements.

Russian gas shipments to Europe are being closely monitored amid shortages – and rising prices – as the continent’s economies are hit. Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said last week that she was “looking forward” to Gazprom’s response to the minimum bid, a day earlier when International Energy Agency chief Fatih Biro blamed Russia for Europe’s energy crisis.

“Neither Russia nor Gazprom’s largest exporter has anything to do with it,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in a televised interview on Saturday. Germany and Turkey, which exceeded conventional supply volumes.

The company announced on Monday that it “delivers natural gas in accordance with the demands of consumers and its contractual obligations.

Gazprom, however, does not provide detailed data on exports by country, which makes it difficult to record deliveries to the EU. – the largest buyer of natural gas, but reported that flows to Turkey and China increased compared to the same period last year.

The Russian giant’s daily shipments to the European border have dropped by an average of 250.5 million cubic meters in the first half of this month, just over half the volume of last year, according to data from the Gazprom website.

The Russian Yamal-Europe pipeline has been sending gas in the opposite direction – from Germany to Poland – for more than three weeks. And the flows through the main route from Ukraine to Slovakia are only about 1/3 of the normal volume.

In late December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Gazprom was complying with long-term gas supply agreements, and that the absence of shipments via Yamal-Europe reflected a lack of requests from European customers.

Even higher deliveries to China, on the other hand, did not offset the decline in Gazprom’s total exports. The Russian giant has “reached a new level of procurement” as of January 1, as stipulated in a long-term deal, the company ‘s chief executive Alexei Miller said earlier this month, without giving details. were 1.5 percent higher than the same period last year, according to Gazprom.

Gazprom’s production in the first half of January averaged 1.54 billion cubic meters per day, the highest level since 2014, according to Bloomberg estimates.

Volume increased by 1.1% compared to December. In the last 10 days of December, Gazprom’s deliveries to the domestic market, as well as flows from underground storage facilities in Russia, reached a 10-year high amid unusually high temperatures.

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