Russian State Gas Company Gazprom announced today that gas prices in Europe could rise another 60% to over $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters this winter as the state-owned company’s exports and production continue to fall due to Western sanctions.

Natural gas flows from Russia have dwindled this year following the closure of a pipeline from Kyiv following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February, and after a dispute over parts of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline led to higher natural gas prices.

“European spot prices have reached $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters. According to the most conservative estimates, if this trend continues, prices will exceed $4,000 per thousand cubic meters,” Gazprom warns.

In the spring, the wholesale price on the spot market in the Netherlands reached a record high of 335 euros per megawatt hour (MWh). Since then, today it has fallen to 226 euros per MWh, but remains at a much higher level than last year at the same time when it was 46 euros per MWh.
Kyiv closed one of Gazprom’s export routes to Europe, and Gazprom reduced the capacity of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany by up to 20% under the pretext of a dispute over equipment.

Overall, Gazprom’s exports fell by 36.2% to 78.5 billion cubic meters between January 1 and August 15, while production decreased by 13.2% to 274.8 billion cubic meters compared to the same period last year. in the message of the Russian state company.

Gazprom’s production fell 32.2% in August from 35.8% in July year on year, CentralCreditBank economist Evgeny Suvorov said on MMI’s Telegram channel, adding that exports fell 59% from 58.4%. last month.

Source: REUTERS