Austria’s demand for Russian gas continues soaring
RELEASE
Release
A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Executive Board of OMV, took place at the Gazprom headquarters today.
The meeting participants addressed the ongoing cooperation in the gas sector, placing a focus on Russian gas exports to Austria. It was noted that from January 1 through November 15, 2016, Gazprom had supplied Austria with 5.1 billion cubic meters of gas, up 31.5 per cent versus the same period in 2015. In November 1–15, 2016, the exports grew by 118.9 per cent.
The parties also addressed issues related to the asset swap between Gazprom and OMV.
Special attention was paid at the meeting to the Nord Stream 2 project.
Background
OMV is the main partner of Gazprom in Austria.
On September 4, 2015, Gazprom and OMV signed the Term Sheet regarding an asset swap. If the deal is completed, OMV will acquire a 24.98 per cent stake in the project for developing Blocks 4A and 5A of the Achimov deposits at the Urengoyskoye oil, gas and condensate field in exchange for Gazprom's participation in OMV assets. On April 1, 2016, Gazprom and OMV signed the second Term Sheet regarding an asset swap. The document specifies, inter alia, the assets to be provided by OMV.
Nord Stream 2 is the project for the construction of a gas pipeline with the annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters running from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.
In 2015, Gazprom supplied Austria with 4.4 billion cubic meters of gas.