Page 20 - Eastern Europe Outlook 2020

levels attainted in 2018, reaching 199.2bn cubic meters. At the same time, the export of gas to the post-Soviet countries grew by 2.2% to reach 37.7bn cubic meters. Gazprom exported a total of 236.9bn cubic meters of gas in 2019, Miller said. “Gas supplies to a number of European countries, including France, Austria, Hungary, and The Netherlands, reached historic highs,” the CEO pointed out. The high volumes of exports were not all due to market demand. Gazprom was pumping record amounts over Ukraine in 2019 – an estimated total of 90bcm -- ahead of a showdown over gas supply contracts with Kyiv that threatened to end in Russia cutting off Ukraine’s gas supplies. Gazprom pumped record amounts of gas into European storage ahead of the potential showdown so that it could keep its commitments to clients. Gazprom also started to supply gas to China via the Power of Siberia gas pipeline in 2019. As many as 328mn cubic meters of gas has been transported via the pipeline. The company’s domestic gas supplies fully met consumer needs although they declined by 1.6% compared to 2018, the company’s CEO said. Miller added that 328mn cubic meters were delivered through the new Power of Siberia gas pipeline, which opened in December. “This volume will gradually increase to the projected 380bn cubic meters of gas per year,” he said.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) does not expect a significant oil price change in 2020​ if a stable political situation remains, director Fatih Birol told Bloomberg in an interview published December 9.
The OPEC+ agreement might be extended until the end of 2020. ​In addition, several signatory countries support further production cuts of up to 400kbbl/d to keep the oil price stable. OPEC+ might also require the signatories to improve control over production to keep it within the pre-agreed quotas. According to the paper, Russia violated the production quota in November because of growing gas condensate production.
20​ EASTERN EUROPE Outlook 2020​ ​ ​www.intellinews.com