LNG

Gazprom shareholders have just held their annual general meeting and despite Western sanctions wiping out profits in the past year and leading to a net loss, one of the world’s largest gas companies has started rebuilding new markets to replace the European Union.

Russian natural gas company Gazprom said flows to China on the “Power of Siberia” pipeline have resumed after scheduled maintenance, offsetting the need for higher LNG imports during the Northern Hemisphere summer season.

Gazprom, the Russian natural gas supplier hit by Western sanctions over the Ukraine invasion, saw its shares drop on the Moscow stock exchange after the board said the company would not be paying a dividend to shareholders as it reported a profits plunge.

Russian natural gas pipeline supplier Gazprom said it was ready in technical terms to build new gas pipelines to Turkey via the Black Sea and building on existing TurkStream and BlueStream links rather than restoring the damaged Nord Stream pipelines linked to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

Gazprom, the supplier of pipeline natural gas to customers from Western Europe to China as well as the Russian Federation and former Soviet states, said record gross earnings were forecast for 2021 and it was also increasing funds for managing risk in the volatile market.

Nord Stream AG, the Swiss-based owner of the Nord Stream I pipeline flowing to the European Union in competition to LNG markets, said 10 days of maintenance had been successfully completed on its twin lines as Gazprom spoke out in support of Nord Stream II, set to be completed by the end of August.