OREANDA-NEWS  By the end of January 2024, total pipeline gas supplies from Russia to Europe increased 1.4 times (by 41 percent) compared to the same period in 2023 and reached 2.52 billion cubic meters. This is reported by the Vedomosti newspaper with reference to Gazprom statistics.

At the same time, almost half (1.29 billion cubic meters) of the fuel volumes delivered in January fell on transit through the territory of Ukraine to the European Union (EU) and Moldova. This figure exceeded the value for the same period in 2023 by 32 percent. Another 1.29 billion cubic meters of gas (plus 51 percent by January 2023) were supplied via the Turkish Stream branch intended for the EU.

Analysts attribute a sharp increase in Russian pipeline gas supplies to Europe (in annual terms) to a number of factors, including a cold snap in European countries. Against this background, the EU countries increased the extraction of fuel from underground gas storage facilities (UGS) by 1.9 times compared to the same month last year, to 18.2 billion cubic meters.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that by the end of 2023, Russian pipeline gas supplies to Europe had decreased by almost 30 percent and amounted to 99.6 billion cubic meters. The key reason for such dynamics was the stoppage of fuel pumping through the Yamal—Europe and Nord Stream pipelines.