Gazprom hits first six-month gas production high since 2011

Russian gas giant Gazprom has produced the largest amount of gas in the January–June periods since 2011.

Gazprom said via its social media channels that, it produced an estimated 258.7 billion cubic meters of gas in the first six months of 2019.

According to the company, that was the largest amount produced in the January–June periods of the past eight years and a 2.3% increase, or 5.7 billion cubic meters, against the same period of 2018.

Gazprom added that the demand for natural gas from the national gas transmission system in the domestic market went down by 2% – or 2.6 billion cubic meters – in the first half of 2019.

However, the Russian firm did state that gas supplies grew by 0.7 billion cubic meters, or 7.4%, in June.

According to preliminary data, Gazprom’s gas deliveries to Europe from January through June 2019 amounted to 95.3 billion cubic meters, down by 5.9% compared to the first six months in the record year of 2018.

The company did increase its gas exports to several countries this year, specifically to Hungary by 67.2%, to Austria by 28.5%, to the Czech Republic by 48.2%, to Slovakia by 21.1%, to the Netherlands by 6.4%, and Italy and France by 1.5%.

Gazprom also provided an update for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The company stated that 1,501 kilometers of pipes, equalling around 61.2% of Nord Stream 2’s total length, have been laid in the Baltic Sea.