Gazprom posts record daily output on Dec 20 at 1.653 bcm of gas - Miller
BRUSSELS. Dec 21 (Interfax) - Russian gas giant Gazprom posted record daily gas production on December 20 at 1.653 billion cubic meters, the company's CEO, Alexei Miller, told journalists in Brussels.
"Today Gazprom [at 5:00 pm Moscow time Gazprom tallies production results for the previous day] set a record in daily output where we produced 1.653 bcm of gas. In term of our production capacity this is over 600 bcm of gas a year. This is as much as Gazprom can physically produce a year," Miller said.
This was a symbolic record for the EU, Miller said. "We've given the EU a present today. I think this is very symbolic," Miller said. "It's a very good illustration of the fact Gazprom is able to supply the market with as much gas as our consumers need inside Russia and abroad on time," he said.
Gazprom's information department said the 1.653 bcm was the highest for five years and translated into more than 603 bcm on an annual basis.
"Such a high figure is the result of Gazprom's systematic effort to ramp up production capacity. The company is capable of producing as much gas as the market needs and is in a position to meet not just current but growing demand for gas in the future," it said.
"A new record was set a few days ago also: Gazprom supplied 550.1 million cu m of gas to the European market in a day [exports plus gas injection into European storage facilities]," Gazprom's Miller said. "We'd never supplied more to Europe in a day. It has to be mentioned that December is breaking new records from the point of view of growth in supplies to the European market, we are above target by more than 18%. This is a very good result, and suggests that Nord Stream and South Stream are very timely projects," he said.
The December supplies to the domestic market are also above the December target, he said.
In recent years the temperature in December has altered little from the autumn temperature. But this time the temperature has plummeted and has already reached the sort of levels more typical for late January and February.