Austria increased Russian gas imports by 77.2 percent from Jan. 1 through April 8, compared to the same period last year, Gazprom said on late Tuesday.
A working meeting between Alexey Miller, chairman of the Gazprom management committee, and Rainer Seele, chairman of the executive board of OMV, took place in St. Petersburg on Tuesday.
According to Gazprom, the parties addressed ongoing and future cooperation, noting that after its record-breaking year for Russian gas imports in 2017, Austria continued to show dynamic gas demand growth.
'According to preliminary data, from Jan. 1 through April 8, 2018, Gazprom had supplied Austria with 3.7 billion cubic meters of gas, a rise of 77.2 percent compared to the same period of last year, Gazprom said.
'Particular attention was paid to the high reliability of gas supplies, including during the peak cold period in Europe between late February and early March, when only Gazprom was able to promptly increase deliveries and provide consumers with the required volumes of gas,' the company said.
In 2017, Gazprom set a new record for gas exports to Austria at 9.1 billion cubic meters, a rise of 50.3 percent or 3 billion cubic meters from 2016 when exports amounted to 6.1 billion cubic meters. In 2005, another previous record was made when imports rose by 33.7 percent or by 2.3 billion cubic meters.
OMV is Gazprom’s main partner in Austria. The companies cooperate in gas production, transportation and supplies.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr