Putin says Russia will deliver more gas if Europe asks

MOSCOW, October 13 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia was ready to deliver more gas to Europe if requested.

“If you ask us to continue growing, we are ready to continue growing. We will add as much as our partners ask of us. There is no refusal, none,” Putin said at an energy conference in Moscow.

European gas prices hit record highs this month, but the Kremlin has repeatedly denied Russia withholding supplies in order to put pressure on rapid regulatory approval of the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea to Germany.

Putin called the accusation that Moscow used energy as a political weapon “complete nonsense”.

“Russia’s reserves are unlimited and we are increasing supplies to Europe even in the current conditions that are difficult for us,” he said.

“We always meet our partners halfway and are ready to discuss additional measures,” he said without going into detail.

His comments hinted at the possibility that Moscow may be willing to go further to ease price pressures in Europe that have skyrocketed household bills and hit industries like steelmakers and fertilizer factories.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously said that Russian gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) is delivering gas in maximum quantities to Europe under existing contracts and that any increase must be negotiated with the company.

“Nothing can be delivered beyond the contracts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “How? Free? It’s about negotiating with Gazprom.”

Separately, Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin said Russia had not changed its storage facility gas injection schedule until November 1, which means there is no rush to supply Europe with additional gas on the spot market.

bureaucracy

Putin said Nord Stream 2 would ease the gas crisis in Europe significantly, but said it was still facing “red tape”.

The 1,230 km (765 mile) pipeline was completed last month, doubling Russia’s gas export capacity across the Baltic Sea, but has yet to clear regulatory hurdles in Germany that could take months to complete.

Putin again criticized the structure of the European gas market and its dependence on volatile spot prices instead of longer-term contracts.

“The situation in the European gas market does not look balanced and predictable,” he said.

This year, even after a cold winter, he said many countries have failed to replenish their storage “by relying on spot gas supplies, the so-called invisible hand of the market. And so when demand is high, they have it.” Prices pushed up “. even more.”

Natural gas prices, particularly in Europe, have skyrocketed this year as economies rebounded sharply from the deep recession sparked by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

The crisis was exacerbated by a sharp drop in storage capacity, the upcoming winter and strong demand from Asia, but traders said Russia’s decision not to book additional delivery capacity for gas pipelines to Europe made the situation worse.

Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov, Olesya Astakhova, Katya Golubkova, Vladimir Soldatkin, Oksana Kobzeva and Darya Korsunskaya; Letter from Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Alex Richardson

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