Gazprom gas exports rise 26% on supply to Ukraine

OAO Gazprom, the world's biggest natural-gas producer, said H1 exports rose 26% as the company began selling the fuel to Ukraine after it stopped paying with gas for pumping services through Ukrainian pipelines. Exports rose to 110.9 billion cubic meters from 87.9 billion a year earlier, Moscow-based Gazprom's export unit, OOO Gazexport, said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. Deliveries to western Europe rose 2.2% to 82.14 billion cubic meters. Exports to eastern Europe climbed 2.6% to 23.51 billion cubic meters. Sales to former Soviet states jumped to 28.73 billion cubic meters from 7.57 billion because of the supplies to Ukraine, according to Gazexport. Gazprom pumps 90% of the gas in Russia, the world's biggest gas producer, and supplies 25% of western Europe's gas needs. It's Russia's only exporter of the fuel to countries outside the Commonwealth of Independent States, which comprises all the former Soviet states except the three Baltic countries. Gazprom this year agreed to sell gas to Ukraine through a Swiss-registered trading company. The Russian producer is transporting about 75% of its exports to Europe via pipelines across Ukrainian territory. Until last year, Gazprom paid Ukraine with gas deliveries for transport services. (Bloomberg)