Gazprom Plans Increased Supply to Europe

Gazprom's Board of Directors have met to discuss the possibility of increasing gas supply to Europe, continuing to build on an already strong export increase to Europe last year.

In its financial results for 2011 released today, Gazprom revealed that it had increased net sales for last year to Europe by 29 per cent. The increased sales bring the total net sales to Europe for the year ending 31st of December 2011 to 156.6 billion cubic metres of gas (bcm), up from 148.1 bcm for the same period in 2010.

Yesterday, the Board of Directors also turned its focus to unconventional gases, such as coal-bed methane (CBM) and shale gas production, despite previous resistance from the company to shale. The company says that the experienced gained from a CBM project currently underway in Kuzbass may inform its technical approach to shale gas in the future.

A statement from Gazprom says that the Management Committee has now been tasked with developing its activities in the unconventional gas market, according to the "technological priorities" set down in the Gazprom Innovative Development Program.

The company has also turned its eye to greener gas projects, with the discussion of green natural gas production also tabled yesterday, Green natural gas, fuel that is produced from biomass to have the same quality as natural gas, will enable the company to enter a growing market within the European Union, Gazprom said.

Despite the increased focus on unconventionals, the company says that conventional gas will continue to form the bulk of operations, given the expense of unconventional gas production and the ready resources already on hand to the company of natural gas.