Page 112 - RusRPTDec21

9.1.1b Oil and gas sector news
On November 15 Gazprom once again refused to book additional gas transit capacity through Ukraine and via the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Germany for December, just as it did in October and November of this year. At the beginning of November, Gazprom reportedly cut its gas transit via Ukraine by almost half. Furthermore, Ukrainian pipelines transported significantly less Russian gas than planned in October, primarily due to Hungary signing a 15-year agreement with Gazprom to import gas through the southern TurkStream pipeline.
Gazprom does not plan to produce shale gas, the company said on
November 24. Shale gas produced with the use of hydraulic fracturing process will obtain the status of a ‘contaminated’ energy source as the significant of environmental agenda is growing, the Russian gas giant said. "Gazprom also does not plan shale gas production in view of high availability of proven gas reserves at conventional fields, whose development is more efficient either from economic or from environmental point of view," the company said.
The US to impose new sanctions on Nord Stream 2. The announcement was made in a statement by the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken on November 23. The State Department had submitted a report to the US Congress listing two ships and the Russian-related company Transadria Ltd which are involved in the project. The report is submitted under the European Energy Security Protection Act 2019 (PEESA). “Transadria Ltd. will be subject to sanctions under PEESA, and its vessel Marlin will be identified as blocked property,” said Blinken. He stressed that in total, the US administration has already imposed sanctions on 8 people and identified 17 of their vessels as blocked property under PEESA in connection with Nord Stream-2. Gas prices rose by 9% due to sanctions against Nord Stream 2. Prices for December 2021 gas contracts rose to $1,089 per thousand cubic meters after new US sanctions against Russia's Nord Stream 2. On November 23, quotations increased by 8.7% to € 91.9 per MWh or $1089 per thousand cubic meters.
Russia's oil reserves will last for at least 30 years, and gas reserves for 50 years, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday. According to Novak, despite the energy transition process, Russia is confident in the possibility of selling its oil and gas reserves. "We believe that in the coming years these resources will be in demand in the energy markets," he stressed. Novak said that Asia will remain the main destination for export growth. For example, oil exports to China have grown 6-fold over the past 10 years. Gas exports are also growing - their volume reached 13.4bn cubic meters at the end of November 2021 since the beginning of the year.
Gazprom announced on 9 November, that it had approved and would start its plan to fill five underground storage sites in Europe, as well as that the company had determined its volumes and transport routes. The release, which was published on the company’s Telegram channel, coincides with an earlier order by President Vladimir Putin to have Gazprom refill its underground storage in Germany and Europe. Gazprom said it had started
112 RUSSIA Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com