A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Executive Board of OMV, took place in St. Petersburg today.

The parties addressed the ongoing and future bilateral cooperation in the energy sector. Particular attention at the meeting was paid to gas supplies. It was noted that in 2017 Austria had set a new record for Russian gas imports at 9.1 billion cubic meters, a rise of 50.3 per cent from 2016 (a total of 6.1 billion cubic meters).

In early 2018, the demand for gas is still on the rise in the country. According to estimates, from January 1 through February 21, 2018, Gazprom delivered to Austria 1.8 billion cubic meters of gas, a rise of 60.6 per cent against the same period of 2017 (1.1 billion cubic meters).

The parties also discussed the progress of the Nord Stream 2 project. It was highlighted that the permit had already been received for the construction and operation of the new gas pipeline’s offshore section in German territorial waters and the onshore section in the area of Lubmin near Greifswald.