Russian gas in RUB for the EU: current status

RUSSIA ENERGY / FINANCE - In Brief 06 May 2022 by Marcel Salikhov

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Russian gas exports to EU From April 27 Gazprom stopped publishing its own operational statistics on natural gas supplies to the EU countries. Probably it's due to the desire not to show further reduction in exports, including its termination to supply gas to Poland and Bulgaria. According to this data, from April 16 to April 26, supplies decreased by 12.2% compared to April 5-15, fluctuating between 256.6 and 276.7mcm per day. Compared to the same period in 2021, export of Russian pipeline gas to the EU countries fell by 38.8%.In total, according to Gazprom, deliveries of Russian pipeline gas to non-CIS countries from January 1 to April 30, 2022 amounted to 50.1 bcm (-26.9% yoy). Deliveries in April, including China and Turkey, but excluding Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, amounted to 11.6 bcm (-26.1% yoy).The decrease in supplies in April was due both to warmer weather compared to 2021 and to higher cost of Russian gas linked to the EU spot indices with a time lag. For this reason, for example, Latvia completely stopped purchases in April. At that time, the role of the political factor was probably limited but it will increase in May.Gas for RUB mechanism Currently it is impossible to say that the EU countries and national companies have reached a consensus on the change of payment mechanism for pipeline gas from Russia. It is known that Italy made proposal to allow all European companies on a temporary basis (“we sort out the legal framework and consequences”) to pay for Russian gas in rubles at the said meeting. However, whether her position was supported by other EU countries is unclear.Hungary remains the only EU country that has publicly expressed its willingness...