Gazprom may or may not be withholding gas from Europe, but high prices and spot shortages before winter should seal the deal for Nordstream 2 early next year. From Charles Kennedy from oilprice.com:
Russian gas giant Gazprom dismisses speculation and accusations that it is not supplying enough natural gas via pipeline to Europe, a senior official at Gazprom Export says.
So far in 2021, Gazprom’s gas deliveries to Europe have reached historic highs, Sergey Komlev, Head of the Contract Structuring and Pricing Directorate at Gazprom Export, wrote in an article for Gazprom’s corporate magazine, as carried by Russian news agency TASS.
Germany, Turkey, and Italy—some of Gazprom’s largest customers—all boosted imports of Russian gas in the first half of 2021, the manager said.
Gazprom’s exports to European countries rose by 23.2 percent between January and July, Komlev added.
“These figures prove the absurdity of accusing Gazprom of supply shortage,” the executive noted.
Europe is grappling with soaring natural gas and electricity prices ahead of the winter heating season due to tight gas supplies, very low gas inventories, and low wind power generation amid still weather.
