Gazprom’s gas exports to Europe fall 22% in January so far

Jan 17 (Reuters) – Daily pipeline gas exports by Kremlin-controlled energy giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) to Europe fell by 22% in the first half of January compared to December amid milder than usual weather, Reuters calculations made on Tuesday show.

The calculations take into account data on daily gas exports via Ukraine and one line of the undersea TurkStream pipeline, the only remaining routes for the Russian gas exports to Europe.

According to Gazprom’s daily data on transit via Ukraine and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG), its average gas supplies to Europe stood at 63.7 million cubic metres per day on Jan. 1-15, down from 81.9 million cubic metres per day on average in December.

A source familiar with Gazprom’s exporting statistics confirmed the calculations.

Gazprom, which has not yet revealed its output and exports data for the first half of January, has not responded to a request for comment.Latest Updates

Its total supplies to the European Union via one of the two lines of TurkStream and the Ukrainian transit reached 955.3 million cubic metres over that period, according to Reuters calculations.

In December, the number stood at 2.5 billion cubic metres.

Russia’s gas exports to Europe via pipelines plummeted to a post-Soviet low in 2022 as deliveries to its largest customer fell because of the conflict in Ukraine and after explosions damaged a major pipeline.

Gazprom is set to ship 32.6 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday, the company said in its daily update, down almost 8% from the previous several days.

The company has shipped gas via Ukraine at between 35.4 mcm and 35.5 mcm for the past 10 days, having exported more than 40 mcm per day at the end of last year and the first three days of 2023.

A source familiar with the data has said that the lower volumes probably reflected record-high winter temperatures seen across much of Europe over the new year period.