BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr.19
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
Eurasian gas production is expected to continue to recover, growing by over 6 percent y-o-y during 2021, close to 2019 levels, Trend reports with reference to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“This would be largely supported by the ramp-up of exports via new and traditional export corridors. Pipeline exports from Russia to Europe and from Central Asia to China are expected to increase by over 10 percent. Exports via the Power of Siberia pipeline are set to reach 10 bcm in 2021. Azeri pipeline deliveries are set to increase by over 15 percent, with 8 bcm destined for Turkey and over 5 bcm for other European markets. Russian LNG exports are set to increase by about 1 bcm, with the start-up of Train 4 at Yamal LNG in Q2 2021,” reads the IEA report.
The report shows that following the steep drop during the first half of 2020, Eurasian gas production losses moderated in the second half of the year and returned to growth in Q1 2021, largely driven by higher gas output in Azerbaijan and Russia.
“Overall, the region’s gas production increased by a mere 2 percent y-o-y during the heating season.
Central Asian pipeline exports to China remained subdued during the heating season, down by close to 9% y-o-y in the October-February period. This was despite the strong demand increase in China during the December/January cold spell. In Uzbekistan, where gas production fell to its lowest level since 1996, electricity and gas supply cuts to the domestic market were reported over the winter. In Azerbaijan gas production increased by 5 percent y-o-y during the October-February period. This was largely driven by the ramp-up of pipeline exports via the TANAP and TAP pipeline systems, with deliveries to the European markets soaring by an impressive 40 percent. Exports via TAP to the European Union totalled over 1 bcm. In Ukraine gas production fell by 3.5 percent during the heating season, with February output plummeting to a 5-year low.”
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