Growth in Europe’s demand for Russian gas confirms importance of Nord Stream 2
Background
OMV is Gazprom’s main partner in Austria.
On December 14, 2016, Gazprom and OMV signed the Basic Agreement regarding the asset swap. According to the document, Gazprom will receive a 38.5 per cent stake in OMV Norge AS, a company focused on geological exploration and production in Norway. In exchange, OMV will obtain a 24.98 per cent stake in the project for developing Blocks 4 and 5 of the Achimov formations in the Urengoy oil, gas and condensate field.
Nord Stream 2 is the project for a transit-free export gas pipeline with the annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas running from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.
Gazprom’s gas supplies to Austria grew by 37.9 per cent in 2016 compared to 2015. In the first quarter of 2017, Russian gas exports to Austria added 67.9 per cent against the same period of 2016.
