Gazprom, OMV Ink LNG Agreement

The CEO of Russian pipeline gas export monopoly Gazprom Alexei Miller and his counterpart at Austrian OMV Rainer Seele have agreed to co-operate further in LNG.

The two companies had previously agreed that Gazprom will supply 1.2bn m³ of gas as LNG in 2020, and under an agreement signed June 7 they have now agreed to extend this beyond 2020 and to include the sale and purchase of conventional and small-scale LNG cargos, Gazprom said.

In addition, both companies intend to explore options for the joint development of small-scale LNG infrastructure projects.

Seele said: “We have been receiving reliable gas supplies from Russia for more than 50 years. Now we are extending our co-operation to LNG. This will contribute to the diversification of sources of supply and help us safeguard security of supply in Europe."

From January 1, 2020, the flow of Russian gas across Ukraine – Austria's principal import route – will be regulated by European network access rules, according to Naftogaz Ukrainy, as the present 10-year contract expires December 31. But so far no terms have been agreed between Russia and Ukraine for even a short-term contract and there are fears of supply disruptions. Gazprom's 55bn m³/yr Nord Stream 2 subsea pipeline is not expected to be running by the end of the year.

OMV has LNG regasification capacity in the Netherlands.