Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe in August turned out to be one of the highest this year. Despite the seizure of the Sudzha gas metering station by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukrainian transit has also remained virtually unchanged.
According to ENTSOG and the Ukrainian gas operator GTS, Gazprom supplied 2.74 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe, including Moldova, in August. This is the third highest figure this year. The difference with May and July is only tens of millions of cubic meters.
At the same time, last August turned out to be worse than the last month of summer 2023. Then, Gazprom supplied the maximum volume since the closure of Nord Stream – 2.85 billion cubic meters.
On August 6, the Ukrainian Armed Forces captured the Sudzha gas metering station on the border of the Kursk region. However, supplies through Ukraine have hardly changed. The average daily transit decreased compared to July by only 600 thousand cubic meters, to 41.6 million cubic meters. Neither side comments on the situation, but the transportation of Russian gas through Ukraine remains stable.
The same cannot be said for LNG supplies to Europe. In August, they continued to decline and fell to 227.5 million cubic meters per day (7.05 billion cubic meters per month), according to the GIE. Compared to July 2024, LNG imports fell by 11%, and compared to August 2023, by 27%.
The main reasons for the supply decline are high inventories in the EU, low demand and the outflow of part of the LNG to the Asian market, which is more attractive this season.
Obviously, the latter factor explains the growth of Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe. Thus, in January-August this year, almost 21 billion cubic meters of gas were supplied to the region from Russia, which is 18% more than the figures for the first eight months of 2023.
The Russian gas pipeline is supplied under long-term contracts. Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Greece, Serbia, Romania and North Macedonia receive it directly from Gazprom. The contract for gas transit through Ukraine is due to expire in December and kyiv does not want to renew it. Among the alternatives, intermediaries in the form of Azerbaijani or European companies are being discussed with European officials, Reuters and Bloomberg reported.
