MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS/. Following the results of the third gas auction, Gazprom export will sign contracts with 11 counterparties for the total volume of about 2 bln cubic meters of gas, the company said on Monday.

Gas will be supplied during the 2016-2017 winter period.

Director General of "Gazprom export" Elena Burmistrova noted that the company is satisfied with the outcome of the auction. "The fact that we were again able to sell additional volumes of gas in the direction where the auction deliveries were first tested last year proves that this model has not only worked once, but can also work on a regular basis. Sales of gas through auction complements our long-term contract deliveries. We intend to continue conducting gas auctions in the future," she said.

Gazprom held the first natural gas sale auction in September 2015 to test the new trading mechanism for gas supplied over the Nord Stream-1 gas pipeline. Over 40 lots for 15 offtakers with the total volume more than 1.2 bln cubic meters of gas were sold.