Cold weather in Europe continues to drive demand for Russian gas

From January 1 to March 15, 2018, 44.4 bcm of gas were delivered to the consumers in the Far Abroad, which marks the growth of 3.4% or 1.5 bcm compared to 2017. In particular, in the first two and a half months of this year exports to Germany grew by 11.1% (1.3 bcm), to Austria — by 90.5% (1.3 bcm), to the Netherlands — by 114.2% (1 bcm).

According to current data by Gas Infrastructure Europe Association, the reserves in the European gas storages are now significantly depleted against the backdrop of severe colds and rapidly increasing demand for gas. As of March 13, 2018, the overall volume of gas withdrawn from the UGS over the current heating season totaled to 60.1 bcm which is higher than the volume of 59.8 bcm pumped into the storages during the injection period. By March 13 the storages were filled at 23.15%, which is the lowest level for the entire history of records since 2011.