MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/. Completion of procedures on preparation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline for the start of gas deliveries in combination with Gazprom’s refusal to book capacities in other routes sends a signal to Europe that Gazprom may increase gas export if the pipeline is approved by the EU, UK-based consulting group Wood Mackenzie says in its report.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline operator reported the day before that the gas-in procedure for the first string of the gas pipeline was completed and it was ready to start deliveries.

"The completion of the gas-in procedures at Nord Stream 2, coupled with no significant capacity bookings on other routes seems to send a strong signal to Europe - Gazprom might be ready to supply more gas, but conditional on Nord Stream 2 getting a green light," says Kateryna Filippenko, principal analyst, European gas research at Wood Mackenzie, cited in the report.

"Earlier in autumn, Russia’s tight domestic gas balance could have been the reason why flows were modest considering high prices. But now we believe the availability of gas has increased as Russian production is on the rise, and injections in the domestic storage are supposed to finish by the start of November," the analyst added.

As reported earlier, the gas filling level in European underground gas storages was 71% of the gas volume withdrawn from them during the last-year heating season.