Gazprom's gas exports soar in July in spite of forecasts
MOSCOW. July 8 (Interfax) - Exports of Russian gas to non-CIS countries increased noticeably in the first week of July in comparison with June, defying a forecast decrease that would have been driven by an increase in long-term contract prices.
According to the Fuel and Energy Dispatch Center (TsDU TEK), for the first four working days of July (July, 1, 4,5 and 6), average daily supply to Western Europe came to 368 million cubic meters, which was an increase of 3% from the average daily rate for June at 357 million cubic meters. In comparison with the week of June 20-24 (average daily supply of 334 mcm) the increase came to 10%. A comparison with the result for the final week of June is impossible since supplies dropped because the Trans-Austrian Gas Pipeline was closed for repair.
Supply of Russian gas to Italy through the Trans-Austrian Gas Pipeline decreased by 12% from 52 mcm (June 20-24) to 46 mcm (July 4-8), Italian gas transport operator Snam Rete Gas said. This means that supply of Russian gas went up thanks to other major importers with large storage facilities such as Germany and Austria.
The current export trend has raised puzzlement among sector specialists. Everybody knew about the upcoming increase in prices and had been ready for this by stocking up on supplies in storage facilities before July. Ukraine, for example, did this and is now collecting half the amount of gas it did in the previous month. According to the TsDU TEK, supply to Ukraine dropped to 57.7 mcm as of July 6 from the average daily rate of 128 mcm for June.
The increase in demand was possibly driven by a contract price increase effective in October that would be more substantive than gas companies earlier proposed. Another reason for this trend might be summer repair and maintenance efforts where buyers might boost supply before or after the repair work in order to compensate for supply shortfall.
Current supplies of Russian gas to non-CIS countries exceed the figures for the same days in 2010 by over 20%.