Russian energy giant Gazprom raised its forecast for natural gas output for 2021 to 506.5 billion cubic metres (bcm), an 11.7% YoY increase, as prolonged cold weather led to higher than usual depletion of gas storage facilities in Russia and Europe, the Moscow-based Kommersant daily cites Vitaly Markelov, a deputy Gazprom head, as saying during a press conference on Thursday.
Gazprom previously planned to produce 496.9 bcm of gas in 2021. Plans changed after the company exceeded its first-quarter production forecast by around 6.6 bcm, according to the report.
Another Gazprom official, Sergei Menshikov, said the production increase is provided by existing fields, while the company plans to bring on stream new deposits and commission new booster compressor stations.
The last time the production of gas in such quantities as planned in 2021 was carried out by Gazprom in 2011. Then the figure was 513.2 bcm.