Page 10 - FSUOGMWeek142020

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM
Gazprom export revenues more than halve in 2M 2020
RUSSIA
Germany, Russia’s top gas customer, is predicted to see the biggest hit to gas demand.
RUSSIAN gas giant Gazprom suffered a 51.3% year-on-year decline in export revenues in Janu- ary-February, data published by Russia’s Federal Customs Service (FCS) shows.
Revenues in the two-month period came to $5.05bn, down from $10.4bn a year earlier. Sup- ply volumes also dropped 24.6% to 32.5bn cubic metres.
Gazprom has traditionally linked prices in its long-term supply contracts to oil benchmarks with a six-to-nine month delay. But in recent years it has introduced more hub-based pricing and has also launched its own platform for spot gas sales.
These changes have been welcomed by Gaz- prom’s customers and have allowed the company to win new business, but they have also increased its exposure to spot market volatility.
The May contract at the Dutch-based TTF gas trading hub – Europe’s largest – has shed around 40% of its value since the start of this year, and is currently trading at roughly €6.9 per MWh.
LNG supply to Europe remains high, and stor- age volumes are at record levels, driving down prices. Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns and unusually warm weather have also sapped gas demand.
Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy slashed its forecast for growth in European gas demand this year to just 0.7% in late March.
“As people stay home and businesses close their doors, demand will decrease for power generation and for burning in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors,” Rystad said.
Germany, Russia’s top gas customer, is pre- dicted to see the biggest hit to gas demand as a result of efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. Gazprom’s sales to the country dropped 8.5% to 53.5 bcm in 2019. The company has not disclosed a breakdown of its exports for this year yet. But overall German gas imports slumped 15.1% y/y in January to 14.1 bcm, Germany’s trade statistics office BAFA reported on April 2. ™
EBRD considers €244mn in loans to KazTransGas
KAZAKHSTAN
THE European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering provid- ing two senior loans totalling up to €244mn in local currency equivalent to Kazakh state-owned companies Intergas Central Asia (ICA) and KazTransGas Aimak (KTGA), according to a project description on the bank’s website.
The two companies are longstanding cli- ents of the development bank and fully owned subsidiaries of KazTransGas, the national gas operator. Through the project the EBRD would help the two companies optimise their balance sheets, continue energy efficiency improvements and develop a corporate governance action plan.
ICA is a designated operator of Kazakhstan’s natural gas transmission system. Gas pipe- lines under the firm’s management include the Russia-bound Central Asia-Centre pipeline, the Bukhara-Ural, Orenburg-Novopskov and Bukhara-Tashkent-Bishkek-Almaty trunk lines.
KTGA is a natural gas distribution monop- oly operating over 17,000 km of transmission gas pipelines, 40,000 km of distribution lines, 31 compressor stations, and three underground gas storage facilities. ™
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Week 14 08•April•2020