Russian Regions 'Still Short on Gas', Says Volgagas Director

Western and southern regions of Russia still suffer from a shortage of gas supplies, despite the massive operations of entitites such as national gas giant Gazprom, according to an industry insider.

Natural-gas producer Volgagas expects to benefit from higher prices and ease of access to pipelines as demand outpaces supply in the regions where it operates.

“There is a deficit of gas in the western and southwestern part of Russia,” Michael Calvey, a board member at the London- based company, said in an interview with Bloomberg. “A cubic meter of gas in Saratov or Volgograd is much more valuable than in Siberia.”

Russia’s gas heartland of Siberia is where Gazprom, the world’s biggest producer, pumps most of its output. Other gas companies in the region must compete to access pipelines, whereas those operating elsewhere can offload their output to the state-controlled producer for export.

“When you are in a region where there is a deficit, Gazprom is happy to buy your gas,” Calvey said. “It frees them up to export more gas to Europe at a much higher price.”

Meanwhile Gazprom announced in a statement that it had acquired a 92.25% stake in Kamchatgazprom from Rosneftegaz, the state oil and gas assets manager.