MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/. The hopes of European countries that LNG supplies from the United States will be stable, have not been fulfilled for second consecutive year due to an attractive price on the Asian market for the American LNG, the department head of Gazprom Export, the export arm of Russia’s top gas producer Gazprom, Sergei Komlev said in an interview with Gazprom’s in-house magazine.

"The hopes of the Europeans for stable LNG supplies from the US have not been fulfilled for second consecutive year. Last year a low European price made those supplies unprofitable, this year it has covered costs, but have been less attractive than the Asian (price)," he said.

Komlev noted that LNG deliveries from the United States reached a record level and increased by 38.3% in the first half of 2021, albeit not due to Europe, but due to China, Japan and Brazil. Meanwhile supplies decreased substantially in European countries, such as Belgium, Italy, Spain and Turkey.

LNG supplies to Europe dropped by 15.9% (or by 10.74 bln cubic meters) in absolute terms in six months of this year, he added.