Gazprom has announced a 4% increase in its investment plan for 2024, raising it to $16.9 billion (1.642 trillion Russian rubles). This decision comes as a result of rising exports and domestic supply, following the approval of the company’s new financial plan for the year.
Initially, Gazprom had targeted a total investment of $16.5 billion (1.574 trillion rubles) for 2024.
The company is focused on developing key projects, particularly those aimed at increasing natural gas supplies to China, according to Famil Sadygov, Deputy Chairman of Gazprom’s Management Committee, in a statement to the Russian news agency TASS.
Gazprom continues to export natural gas to Europe through pipelines, including routes crossing Ukraine and the TurkStream pipeline, serving several countries in Central Europe.
However, since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s gas exports to Europe have significantly declined. The decrease in Gazprom’s deliveries is primarily due to the suspension of pipeline gas exports to most European countries.
Following the invasion in early 2022, Russia cut off supplies to Poland, Bulgaria, and Finland. In June 2022, Gazprom began reducing deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany, citing maintenance issues related to Western sanctions against Russia. This occurred just weeks before the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in late September 2022, which effectively halted all Russian gas flows to Germany.
Before the war, Russia supplied about one-third of Europe’s gas. With most European markets now closed, Russia faces challenges in persuading China to increase its gas imports. Beijing is hesitant to commit to a large new pipeline project unless it is beneficial for its economy.
Despite these challenges, Gazprom is pushing forward. The company is accelerating its natural gas exports to China through the existing Power of Siberia pipeline, with plans to reach maximum capacity by the end of 2024, a full year ahead of schedule.
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