Russia’s Gazprom ramps up production as gas exports surge

Russian state-run energy giant Gazprom has increased output of natural gas by nearly 18% in the first eight months of the current year, compared to the same period a year ago.

The gas producer said its output totaled 337.2 billion cubic meters, marking a year-on-year growth of 17.9%, according to the company’s report, released earlier this week.

At the same time, natural gas exports outside the former Soviet Union saw an increase of 19.4% to 131.3 billion cubic meters. Supplies of natural gas to Turkey reportedly surged 173.6% from January to August, while shipments of the fuel to Germany and Italy soared by 39.3% and 15% respectively.

The company also reported a wild surge in sales to Romania of 344%, while supplies to Serbia and Bulgaria swelled by 123.9% and 50.9% respectively. Meanwhile, shipments to Finland grew by 22.7%. Greece increased purchases by 15.8%, while sales to Poland saw a modest growth of just 12%.

Earlier this week, Gazprom said that its 2021 output is expected to rise by 55 billion cubic meters to more than 510 billion cubic meters, the highest over the past decade.

Gas exports to Europe are projected to reach 183 billion cubic meters in the current year. The producer added that the upcoming launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would not have any major impact on its 2021 exports.

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