Gazprom exports rise in August amid price decline, despite maintenance schedule
MOSCOW. Aug 16 (Interfax) - Russian gas exports outside the CIS rose 7.5% to 7.3 billion cubic meters in the August 1-15 period, CEO Alexei Miller said in a statement distributed at the company.
Despite August being the peak period for scheduled maintenance on trunk gas pipelines, demand has grown amid declining prices, making it impossible to carry out scheduled shutdowns on a routine basis. According to sector statistics, in order to meet orders from European clients, Gazprom has not only increased gas transit volumes through Ukraine, but halted injections into underground storage facilities in Europe and begun withdrawing gas instead, in volumes on a par with the level of subzero winter days.
"From January 1 through August 15, 2016, supplies of Russian gas to Europe have risen 10.4% compared with the same period last year. In natural terms, the increase amounts to 9.9 billion cubic meters," Miller said.
Each month, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) publishes the calculated sale price of Gazprom gas exported to the non-CIS. In the first quarter, the sale price fluctuated in the neighborhood of $200 per 1,000 cubic meters, and in the second fell from $180 to $160, reaching $156 in August. The FAS data is at odds with Miller's statement in June that export prices would begin rising in the third quarter.