Gazprom plans to lay a new pipeline to Europe, the company’s chairman of the board Alexander Medvedev said in an interview with Rossiya-24 TV.
“We have confirmed reserves, we have transport and we are building new transport routes. If Europe tells us what it needs and is ready to sign the pertinent contracts, I’m not ruling out that we might need new gas pipelines, like, for example, Nord Stream 3,” Medvedev added.
It was earlier reported that Gazprom was keeping a close eye on falling gas production from the Netherlands' giant Groningen field amid a general drop in natural gas reserves in the EU.
Russian Gas for the World
In 2016, Gazprom cranked up exports by 12.5 percent to a record 179.3 billion cubic meters, and to an all-time record of 194.4 billion in 2017.
With additional gas supplies to China and Europe slated for next year, Gazprom, which currently accounts for more than 60 percent of European gas imports, plans to increase its export to Europe to a staggering 200 billion cubic meters.
Gazprom is currently operating the underwater gas pipeline Nord Stream, which has been transporting Russian gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea since 2012. The energy giant’s Nord Stream 2 is slated to go into operation before the end of 2019.
Both projects have faced strong opposition from transit countries and those which find themselves away from delivery points, such as Ukraine and the Baltic States
READ MORE: Nord Stream 2 Going Full Throttle Despite Ukraine's Protests, US Threats
Nord Stream 2 is a joint project run by Russia's Gazprom together with France's Engie, Austria's OMV AG, Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, and Germany's Uniper and Wintershall.
It will deliver 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas per year to the EU, through a pipeline across the Baltic Sea to Germany.
