OREANDA-NEWS. A working meeting was held in Berlin today between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Sigmar Gabriel, German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The parties discussed gas exports from Russia to Germany. It was highlighted that last year had set an all-time record for gas supplies from Russia as they grew by 6.6 billion cubic meters (a 17.1 per cent increase). The growth trend continues this year as well: the exports have already risen by 2 billion cubic meters (a 19 per cent increase) in the first four months of 2016 compared to 2015. In light of the increasing demand for Russian energy products in Europe, the meeting participants stressed the importance of the Nord Stream 2 project.

It was noted that the new gas transmission pipeline would not only improve the reliability of gas deliveries but also facilitate the development of the European gas market.

Another working meeting took place today between Alexey Miller and Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Executive Board of OMV AG.

The meeting addressed a wide range of issues, including, inter alia, Russian gas exports to Austria, the asset swap, and oil supplies.

An emphasis was placed on the cooperation between the parties within the Nord Stream 2 project.

Germany is the largest consumer of Russian gas. In 2015, Gazprom sold 45.3 billion cubic meters of gas in the German market.

On September 4, 2015, Gazprom, BASF, E.ON, ENGIE, OMV, and Shell inked the Shareholders Agreement to construct the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline system with the annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.

On September 4, 2015, Gazprom and OMV also 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 field in exchange for Gazprom's participation in OMV assets.

On October 23, 2015, Gazprom and OMV signed the Memorandum of Understanding for oil supplies to OMV from Gazprom Group's portfolio.