Gazprom Has No Capacity to Supply Rosneft With Natural Gas For Export

Russian energy giant Gazprom does not have the capabilities to supply Russia's Rosneft oil company with natural gas for export, Deputy Chairman of the company’s Management Committee Alexander Medvedev said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – He added that Gazprom could increase its foreign exchange earnings from gas exports in 2017 by 16 percent, up to $35 billion.

"The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 are reserved for export deliveries under the existing contracts between Gazprom Export and our customers. There is no capacity for additional supplies for Rosneft," Medvedev stressed on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Medvedev said that the price of natural gas exports to Europe is likely to stay within the range of $180-190 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom set up a joint venture in 2015 with France's Engie, Austria’s OMV AG, Royal Dutch Shell, Germany's Uniper and Wintershall to bring Russian natural gas to the European Union.

The planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline is expected to be able to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas a year to the European Union, carrying it across the Baltic Sea to Germany while bypassing Ukraine. The launch of the pipeline is planned for 2018. Gazprom has a shareholder agreement to extend the existing Nord Stream with partner European energy firms.