MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/. Pipeline gas supplies from Russia to Europe in 2021 reached historic highs, Gazprom increased gas production year-on-year by 18.4%. The accusations that Gazprom is not supplying gas to Europe are absurd, Head of Contract Structuring and Price Formation Directorate for Gazprom Export Sergey Komlev said in his article for Gazprom corporate magazine.

According to the article, Europe increased its imports of pipeline gas in the first half of 2021 by 31.5 bln cubic meters (bcm), or 33%. "Gazprom supplies of pipeline gas reached historical highs, and the majority of their growth fell on the share of the most important buyers," Komlev wrote, stressing Germany, Turkey, and Italy as the main consumers.

Gazprom output by the end of July, according to preliminary data, reached 298.2 bcm of gas, which is 18.4% more than in the same period last year, he added. "At the same time, the company's gas exports grew by 23.2%, and supplies to non-CIS countries increased to 115.3 bcm. These figures prove the absurdity of accusing Gazprom of supply shortage," Komlev concluded.

For example, in the first half of 2021, Germany increased Russian gas exports by around 44% year-on-year to 28.9 bcm, Turkey - 30-fold to 14.6 bcm, Italy - by 14% to 11.4 bcm.