Alexey Miller speaks at Cooperation in the Energy Sector as a Stabilizing Factor for the Global Economy Conference during IBC Annual General Meeting
Dear colleagues,
Welcome to the traditional conference held as part of the General Meeting of the International Business Congress.
Today's event is dedicated to the energy industry as a crucial factor of long-term competitiveness. Reliable, sufficient, and affordable energy supply is key to business expansion and stable economic growth. And that is true for every region of the world.
At present, the European economy has an increasing demand for imported gas. The European Union's domestic production is steadily declining and this trend will continue to strengthen in the coming years.
Over 10 years, the import share in the European consumption of natural gas has climbed significantly to almost 50 per cent. In 2015, gas consumption went up by 4 per cent against 2014.
Similarly, imports are growing in the world's largest energy market, namely China. In the first quarter of 2016, 'blue fuel' deliveries to China rose by 22 per cent compared to the same period in 2015. Specifically, pipeline gas imports added 26 per cent and LNG – 16.9 per cent.
As for Russian gas supplies to Europe, they grew by 8 per cent in 2015 versus 2014, totaling 159.4 billion cubic meters. The Company's share in Europe's energy consumption hit a record high of 31 per cent.
The first months of 2016 have seen a continuing trend in the demand for Russian gas. Between January 1 and May 15, exports to Europe climbed by 18 per cent compared to the same period in 2015.
European demand for imported gas will grow. According to our estimates, Europe will need no less than 100 billion cubic meters of additional gas per year by 2025.
Gazprom has sufficient production capacities and is ready to ramp up its supplies.
It should be noted that nowadays there is no infrastructure to supply those extra 100 billion cubic meters to Europe. It is well known that gas project life cycles are longer than one or two years. In order to secure additional gas supplies in 10 years, we need to create the required gas transmission capacities now.
To this end, Gazprom consistently pursues the strategy of establishing new export routes. Our non-transit Nord Stream pipeline is operating efficiently.
As you probably know, the idea to build this gas pipeline did not initially gain unanimous support. However, the project was implemented successfully, and today Nord Stream ensures unprecedentedly reliable supplies to the European gas market.
Drawing on the success of Nord Stream, a number of European companies cooperate with Gazprom to create a new export trunkline, Nord Stream 2. As this project responds to the interests of Europe's energy majors and their clients alike, it will without a doubt be of immense value to the European continent.
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