A total of 102.5 billion standard cubic metres (scm) of gas was transported from the Norwegian continental shelf within gas grid operator Gassco’s operatorship during 2013. This was 4.9 billion scm down from the year before, the company’s web site reads.
On the back of the price cuts, cold weather and more production, Gazprom’s supplies to Europe rose 16 percent to a record high 161.5 billion scm last year from 138 scm in 2012, widening its lead over Norway to about 30 percent.
In 2012, Norway sold gas to European buyers at cheaper spot-indexed prices than Russia, hitting record high gas exports and surpassing Russian exports with a few percentage points. Wanting to keep its dominant position in Europe, Russian exporter Gazprom agreed to loosen its pricing policy and paid more than $4 billion in the first half of 2013 to European clients who had complained about expensive gas prices linked to the oil market, Reuters writes.
“Norway’s gas exports depend on many elements in an interplay between production, transport capacity, resource availability, the market and so forth,” says Gassco chief executive Brian Bjordal. “This interaction creates natural variations, and the reduction in last year’s deliveries accordingly does not represent a trend.
