Gazprom told analysts it cut back on plans to boost exports to Europe this year, but analysts said the company would still be able to supply more than enough even though European customers were pleading for extra gas to cope with a cold snap. Gazprom, which covers a quarter of Europe's gas needs or more, cut its forecast for supplies to Europe by around 6 percent to 154 bcm, sources who saw a company presentation said on Friday.
Last year it supplied 150 bcm, also slightly less than expected.
Citi analysts said in a report this week that they expected Gazprom to deliver 145 bcm this year. "In spite of this late season cold snap, we think an adjustment period will be needed to deal with the overall weather-depressed demand of the 2011/12 winter," Citi said.
"European storage is still quite full for this time of year, having not been drawn down as expected, so the need for gas to refill storage this summer will probably be less than usual." Earlier Gazprom had expected to supply an additional 10 to 12 bcm of gas to Europe in 2012 to around 164 bcm comparing to 150 bcm in 2011. The company said on Friday, according to the presentation to analysts, obtained by Reuters, that it may boost be able to boost exports by pumping more Central Asian gas, increasing its purchases by 15 percent to 31.5 bcm in 2012.
European companies have complained that Gazprom has not met their requests for boosting deliveries of gas amid the ongoing cold snap. Gazprom said it has been unable to meet all the additional requests. "On the whole, my feeling is that there will be enough gas for Europe. Gazprom has enough reserves and pipeline capacity," Constantine Cherepanov from UBS said. "But no one is insured against short-term fluctuations, like this winter," he added.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.