Gazprom Boosts Defense of EU Market Share With First Auction
- Russian exporter to sell 3.2 billion cubic meters of gas
- Extra volume into well-supplied market may pressure EU prices
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Gazprom PJSC will this week hold auctions to sell gas in Europe as the world’s biggest exporter of the fuel takes unprecedented steps to defend its market share in the region.
The Moscow-based company started the sales at 10 a.m. Moscow time Monday and will hold three auctions for delivery into Germany, complementing its decades-long practice of long-term contracts mainly linked to oil. Gazprom is seeking to boost supplies to Europe and Turkey by 7 percent this year to make up for an anticipated 30 percent drop in the price it will receive for its fuel, Valery Nemov, a deputy department head at the company’s export arm, said on a conference call Sept. 1.