Russian gas pipelines. Pipeline transport: Russian oil pipelines

Introduction.

2.1. Composition of the main gas pipeline.

2.2. Composition and purpose of compressor stations.

2.3. Preparation of gas for transport.

Control questions.

Introduction

one system gas supply (UGSS) of Russia is a widely branched network of gas pipelines that supply consumers with gas from gas fields Tyumen region, Komi Republic, Orenburg, Astrakhan regions and other regions.

Compressor station - component main gas pipeline, designed to ensure its design bandwidth by increasing the gas pressure at the CS outlet using various types gas pumping units (GPU).

Natural gas coming from wells contains solid particles (sand, scale), condensate of heavy hydrocarbons, water vapor, and in some cases hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. The presence of solid particles in gas leads to abrasive wear of pipes, fittings and parts compressor equipment, clogging of control and measuring instruments. Heavy hydrocarbon condensate and water settle at low points in gas pipelines, reducing their flow area. Therefore, before supplying gas to the main pipeline, it must be dried and cleaned of mechanical and harmful impurities.

Composition of the main gas pipeline

The main gas pipeline (MG) includes the following main facilities (Figure 2.1):

Headworks;

Compressor stations;

Gas distribution stations (GDS);

Underground gas storage facilities;

Linear structures.

Figure 2.1 – Scheme of the main gas pipeline: 1 – gas collection networks; 2 – field gas collection point; 3 – head structures; 4 – compressor station; 5 – gas distribution station; 6 – underground storage facilities; 7 – main pipeline; 8 – branches from the main pipeline; 9 – linear fittings; 10 - two-thread crossing over a water barrier

1. At the headworks, the produced gas is prepared for transportation. IN initial period During field development, gas pressure is usually so high that there is no need for a main compressor station. It is built later, after the gas pipeline is put into operation.

2. Compressor stations are designed for pumping gas; in addition, the compressor stations purify the gas from liquid and solid impurities. The complex of compressor station structures includes such devices as: dust collectors, devices for cleaning liquid and solid impurities, gas pumping units (GPU), air cooling(AVO) and other auxiliary structures.

3. Gas distribution stations are constructed at the end of each main gas pipeline or branch from it. The following operations are carried out at the GDS: reducing gas pressure to the required level, since gas equipment, used in industry and in everyday life, is designed for relatively low pressure and high-pressure gas transported through the main gas pipeline cannot be directly supplied to consumers; gas purification from impurities (mechanical particles and condensate) to ensure reliable operation equipment; odorization, that is, giving a sharp specific smell for leak detection. Gas consumption is also recorded at the gas distribution station.

4. An underground gas storage facility is a gas storage facility created in rocks(in artificial workings or in porous formations). Underground gas storage facilities serve to compensate for uneven gas consumption. The use of underground structures for gas storage can significantly reduce metal costs and capital investments in storage facilities.

5. A set of linear structures may include:

Pipeline with branches and loopings, shut-off valves, CS connection nodes, starting and receiving nodes for cleaning devices, condensate collectors and devices for methanol input. Unlike similar structures of oil and petroleum product pipelines, gas pipelines use linear valves instead of linear ones Ball Valves. The length of the main gas pipeline can range from tens to several thousand kilometers, and the diameter can range from 150 to 1420 mm. Most gas pipelines have a diameter from 720 to 1420 mm. Pipes and fittings of main gas pipelines are designed for operating pressure up to 7.5 MPa;

Transitions of the main gas pipeline through natural and artificial obstacles;

Settings electrochemical protection corrosion protection of gas pipelines, lines and structures technological communication, pipeline telemechanics equipment;

Power lines intended for servicing pipelines and power supply devices and remote control shut-off valves and installations for electrochemical protection of pipelines;

Fire-fighting, anti-erosion and protective structures pipelines;

Buildings and structures of the linear pipeline operation service;

Permanent roads and helipads located along the pipeline route, and approaches to them, identification and signal signs for the location of pipelines;

Directions and warning signs.

The active development of pipeline transport in Russia began in the late 1950s.

In 2008, 488 million tons of oil and petroleum products were transported by pipeline, this figure increased by 53% compared to 2000.

The cargo turnover of pipeline transport in terms of oil and petroleum products in 2008 amounted to 1.1 trillion ton-kilometers, having increased by 49% compared to 2000.

The length of main gas and oil product pipelines in 2008 was 63 thousand km, having increased by 2 thousand km compared to 2000. As of the end of 2012, the length of main pipelines (according to Rosstat) amounted to 250 thousand km, including 175 thousand km of gas pipelines, 55 thousand km of oil pipelines and 20 thousand km of oil product pipelines.

Oil pipelines

Russian state company Transneft and its subsidiaries have the world's largest oil trunk pipeline system, the length of which is 48.7 thousand km (as of June 2006) and through which more than 90% of Russian oil is pumped.

Active

• The Druzhba oil pipeline (operating capacity 66.5 million tons per year) is the largest export route in Russia (Almetyevsk - Samara - Unecha - Mozyr - Brest and further to the countries of Eastern and Western Europe);
• Almetyevsk - Nizhny Novgorod - Ryazan - Moscow;
• Nizhny Novgorod - Yaroslavl - Kirishi;
• Samara - Lisichansk - Kremenchug - Kherson;
• Ust-Balyk - Kurgan - Ufa - Almetyevsk;
• Nizhnevartovsk - Kurgan - Kuibyshev;
• Tuymazy - Omsk - Novosibirsk;
• Kaltasy - Yazykovo - Salavat;
• Shkapovo - Salavat;
• Alexandrovskoye - Anzhero-Sudzhensk;
• Krasnoyarsk - Angarsk;
• Surgut - Omsk - Pavlodar - Chimkent - Chardzhou;
• Baltic Pipeline System (operating capacity 74 million tons per year);
• Baltic Pipeline System-II (operating capacity 30 million tons per year);
• Eastern oil pipeline (operating capacity 58 million tons per year);
• Caspian Pipeline Consortium (operating capacity 28.2 million tons per year);
• Kuyumba - Taishet

Under construction and design

Oil pipeline Khabarovsk - Komsomolsk-on-Amur

Construction of an oil pipeline branch from pipeline system Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean(ESPO) to the Komsomolsk-on-Amur oil refinery began in February 2016. It is planned to build 293 km of linear part, a main oil pumping station with a tank farm of 80 thousand cubic meters, two intermediate stations and external power supply facilities. Commissioning is scheduled for 2018.

Expansion of the Caspian Pipeline (CPC-2)

On December 15, 2010, a final decision was made to invest in a project to expand the capacity of the pipeline system of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC-2) to 67 million tons of oil per year.

Murmansk oil pipeline

In November 2002, Russian oil companies Lukoil, Yukos, TNK and Sibneft signed a memorandum of intent to build the Western Siberia - Murmansk oil export pipeline. However, due to the negative attitude of the Government of the Russian Federation towards the emergence of private pipelines, the implementation of the project has been frozen to the present time.

Since 2003, Transneft has been participating in the project, which is considering an oil pipeline along the Kharyaga-Indiga route with a capacity of 50 million tons of oil per year as an alternative.

Gas pipelines

The largest operator of Russian gas pipelines is the state-owned company Gazprom.

Large gas pipelines:

Active

Saratov - Moscow

Gas pipeline from fields natural gas in the immediate vicinity of Saratov, in the valley of the Elshanka River, to Moscow. Routed through the territories of Saratov, Penza, Tambov, Ryazan and Moscow regions.

First main gas pipeline Russia. In 1944, a resolution was adopted by the State Defense Committee on the construction of the Saratov-Moscow gas pipeline, the creation of the Construction Administration and the Directorate of the gas pipeline under construction. Construction of the gas pipeline began during the Great Patriotic War and went into operation in 1946.

The length of the gas pipeline is 843 km, the pipe diameter is 325 mm.

Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhgorod

Connects gas fields of the north Western Siberia with end consumers in Europe.

The total length is 4,451 km, capacity is 32 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The diameter of each of the three threads is 1420 mm.

Yamal - Europe

Connects gas fields in the north of Western Siberia with end consumers in Europe. Passes through the territory of Belarus and Poland.

Throughput capacity is about 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

Blue Stream

A gas pipeline between Russia and Turkey, laid along the bottom of the Black Sea.

The pipeline was built within the framework of the Russian-Turkish agreement from, according to which Russia must supply 364.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey in 2000-2025. Construction costs amounted to $3.2 billion. Construction was carried out by the Russian-Italian company Blue Stream Pipeline Company B.V., which was owned in equal shares by Gazprom and the Italian Eni.

The total length of the gas pipeline is 1213 km, of which:

• a land section on the Russian side from the town of Izobilny, Stavropol Territory, to the village of Arkhipo-Osipovka, Krasnodar Territory, on the Black Sea coast, 373 km long;
• the sea section from Arkhipo-Osipovka to the Durusu terminal, located 60 km from the city of Samsun (Turkey) with a length of 396 km;
• a land section on the Turkish side from the city of Samsun to the city of Ankara, 444 km long.

Gas pipeline pipe diameter: flat part of the onshore section - 1400 mm, mountainous part of the onshore section - 1200 mm, offshore section - 610 mm. The gas pipeline operators are Gazprom Export and Turkish Botas.

Commercial supplies of Russian natural gas via a gas pipeline to Turkey began in February 2003. The Blue Stream delivered 2 billion m³ of gas to Turkey, - 3.2 billion m³, - 5 billion m³, - 7.5 billion m³, - 9.5 billion m³, - 10.1 billion m³. It is planned that in 2010 the gas pipeline will reach full power(16 billion cubic meters of gas per year).

There are plans to build a continuation of the gas pipeline to Israel, Italy, as well as to expand the capacity of the “pipe” by 2 times - to 32 billion m³ per year.

Dzuarikau - Tskhinvali

Export gas pipeline from Russia to South Ossetia. It starts in the village of Dzuarikau (North Ossetia) and then passes through the Caucasus ridge, then through the city of Kvaisa, and to the city of Tskhinvali. It is the highest mountain in the world.

Branches from the main highway are planned to all areas South Ossetia.

Dzhubga - Lazarevskoye - Sochi

The construction of the gas pipeline was carried out from September 2009 to June 2011.

Sakhalin - Khabarovsk - Vladivostok

Construction of the gas pipeline began on July 31, 2009 in Khabarovsk. The first launch complex was officially put into operation on September 8, 2011. The ceremony took place in Vladivostok, on Russky Island.

Nord Stream

Bovanenkovo ​​- Ukhta

The decision to build the gas pipeline was made in October 2006, construction began in August 2008. The first stage of the gas pipeline was put into operation on October 23, 2012. The second stage was put into operation on January 17, 2017.

The length of the gas pipeline is 1260 km, the total design capacity of the two stages of the gas pipeline is 115 billion m³ of gas per year.

Under construction

Yakutia-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok

Turkish Stream

Canceled

South Stream

Designed

Altai

Caspian gas pipeline

Southern corridor

Ammonia pipeline

Ethylene line

Carbon pipeline

Product pipelines for pumping finished fuel

Large product pipelines:

Performance indicators

Problems of activity

The problems with Russian pipelines are the complexity of their construction and maintenance, as well as illegal connections for oil theft. Illegal tapping is dangerous not only due to the loss of the oil itself, but also due to oil pollution and fires. In the 90s and 2000s, many cases of such illegal tie-ins were recorded, many of which operated for many years.

• Another illegal connection has been neutralized. Report from Gubernia TV
• Rifey TV channel report on another illegal tapping

Links

Notes

1. Nikolaev A. S. United transport system/ A. S. Nikolaev. - M.: Lyceum, 2001.
2. Results of the activities of JSC Russian Railways in 2012-2016. and development plans until 2025. M.: 2017. pp. 2-3
3. Main transport indicators // Rosstat
4. Rosstat. 17.23. LENGTH OF COMMUNICATION ROUTES
5. Both a manager and a virtuoso bureaucrat // Expert, October 1, 2007
6. The Zapolyarye - Purpe oil pipeline has been built! Tyumen news. Tyumen News
7. Home | Argus Media
8. https://www.transneft.ru/about/projects/current/10649/
9. Putin launched the Kuyumba-Taishet main oil pipeline - MK
10. Construction of an oil pipeline from ESPO to the Komsomolsk Oil Refinery has started - Khabarovsk News
11. JSC AK Transneft
12. http://www.cpc.ru/portal/alias!press/lang!ru/tabID!3706/DesktopDefault.aspx The final decision on investment for the Expansion Project has been made

Pipeline is the name given to transport through which solid, vapor or liquid products are moved. It is used to deliver raw materials to consumers. Let us further consider the features that Russian pipeline transport has.

General information

The development of pipeline transport began more than a century ago. Mendeleev was at the origins of its creation. He believed that pipeline transport of oil and gas would ensure intensive expansion of the corresponding industrial sectors. This, in turn, would allow the country to enter the world market. Today, Russian pipeline transport not only meets the needs of the state, but also supplies Western Europe, Southeast Asia, Turkey.

Key Features

Pipeline transport is considered cost-effective and progressive. It is universal, characterized by the absence of cargo loss during delivery with fully automated and mechanized unloading and loading processes. Returns of packaging are also excluded. Due to this, it is spent on moving goods by pipeline transport. less funds than, for example, by railway. Special meaning this sector acquires due to the remoteness of the deposits from the consumer.

Classification

Pipeline transport can be mainline. It connects several enterprises in various industries located tens, hundreds, and sometimes thousands of kilometers from each other. Pipeline transport can also be technological. Its length is 1-3 km. It provides a connection technological processes within one enterprise. Industrial pipeline transport has a length of up to 10-15 km. It connects enterprises of the same economic sector.

Specifications

The pipeline is a pipeline made of pipes with a diameter of up to 1.5 thousand mm. They are laid to a depth of up to 2.5 m. Pipeline transport of petroleum products is equipped special equipment. It is intended for heating viscous grades, dehydration and degassing. Pipeline gas transport is equipped with installations for drying and odorization (giving a sharp, specific odor). In addition, there are distribution and pumping stations. The latter are designed to maintain optimal pressure. At the beginning of the highway, head stations are installed, and after 100-150 km - intermediate pumping stations. The total length of pipelines in the Russian Federation is 217 thousand km, oil pipelines account for 46.7 thousand km, gas pipelines account for 151 thousand km. In terms of freight turnover, it ranks second after the railway. Trunk pipelines transport 100% of gas, 99% of oil and more than 50% of processed compounds.

Main advantages of the system

Pipeline transport facilities have a number of undoubted advantages. Among them:

Besides, modern technologies manufacturing materials ensure reliability, durability and high wear resistance of highways.

Pipeline oil transport

One of the features of this sector is the increase specific gravity elements large diameter. This is explained by the high profitability of such highways. Improvement of systems is determined today general condition oil industry. For example, from 1940 to 1980 in favorable period the length of highways increased from 4 to 69.7 thousand km. At the same time, freight turnover increased from 4 to 1197 billion t/km. The increase in the length of the oil pipeline is accompanied by an increase in export supplies of raw materials.

Control over the system

The Transneft company, as well as its subsidiaries, have the world's largest trunk oil pipeline system. It is a natural monopoly, which is state-owned and controlled by the state. Management is carried out by setting tariffs for services, distributing access to export routes, and coordinating investments in the industry, which also influence prices. The total length of the Transneft pipeline system, which connects almost all raw material production areas with export terminals and processing centers, is 70 thousand km.

The largest systems in the Russian Federation

There are three large-scale highways in Russia:

Gas transportation

The system delivering this raw material is considered the youngest. It should be noted that pipeline transport is the only way to send this material to consumers. The first highways were built during the Great Patriotic War. The state company Gazprom acts as the operator of the gas pipeline system. This enterprise is considered the largest not only in the Russian Federation, but also in the world. The Gazprom company has the exclusive right to export domestic gas. The length of the highway is more than 160 thousand km.

The largest systems in the Russian Federation

There are 4 main highways:

1. Gas pipeline from Saratov to Moscow. Its construction began during the Second World War, and it entered service in 1946. This is the first pipeline in the country used for gas delivery. The length of the system is 843 km. The main uses pipes with a diameter of 325 mm. The highway passes through the Moscow, Ryazan, Tambov, Penza and Saratov regions.
2. System "Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhgorod". This is the first Soviet gas export pipeline. The system connects fields in the north of Western Siberia and in the west of Ukraine. The raw materials are then delivered to end consumers in Europe. The highway crosses the border of the Russian Federation with Ukraine north of the city of Sumy.
3. Export system "Yamal - Europe". This highway connects fields in Western Siberia with consumers in Europe. It passes through the territory of Poland and Belarus.
4. Blue Stream system. This highway connects Turkey and Russia and passes through the Black Sea. Its total length is 1213 km. Among them:

Industry prospects

Issues related to the development of pipeline transport were discussed at government meetings. Among other things, the strategy until 2010 was approved. During the discussion, many scientists and specialists proposed developing the fuel and energy sector, and in particular the gas and oil industry so that over time they become the locomotive of the country’s socio-economic revival. In accordance with the approved strategy, by 2020 it is expected that the system of raw material extraction will change due to the introduction of new deposits in the eastern part of the Siberian territory, the Timan-Pechora oil and gas pipeline, as well as a decrease in production in existing pools. The main oil export destinations will be:

• Asia-Pacific.
• Northern European.
• Northern.
• Yuzhnoe.

The last two will become large promising projects.

"Nord Stream"

This gas pipeline should pass through the Baltic Sea and connect the Russian Federation with Germany. The agreement on the construction of the highway was concluded in September 2005. According to the project, this pipeline should become one of the longest systems located under water. Commissioning of the highway at full capacity was planned for 2012. According to the project, 2 directions of the gas pipeline should deliver 55 billion m 3 of domestic gas per year for at least five decades to the countries of the European Union.

"South Stream"

This is a joint project of Russia, France and Italy. The highway should connect the city of Novorossiysk and the port of Varna in Bulgaria. Then its branches will go to Italy and Austria through the Balkan Peninsula. In accordance with the project, the system should become operational in 2015. The creation of South Stream is being carried out to diversify the supply of raw materials to Europe and reduce the dependence of buyers and suppliers on transit countries - Turkey and Ukraine. This pipeline is considered a competitive project of the Nabucco gas pipeline, the route of which should go south of the Russian Federation. This system is supported by the United States and the European Union.

Transit and export directions

To ensure the economic and strategic interests of the Russian Federation, a systematic and comprehensive development of new routes from the CIS countries through Russia is being carried out. These will be the directions:

Economic and strategic interests The Russian Federation is quite closely connected with the increase in transit supplies of oil from the CIS countries. They will contribute to the utilization of existing capacities and the construction of new ones.

Finally

Pipeline transport is a system that is developing most dynamically today. Its main difference is that the raw materials themselves are delivered directly without the movement of a vehicle. To ensure the uninterrupted functioning of the entire existing backbone system, the management of its operation is in the sphere of activity of domestic natural monopolies. In Russia, these include OJSC Gazprom and the state company Transneft. The country's energy strategy, developed until 2020, will ensure the implementation of the economic interests of the Russian Federation. At the same time, new export directions, the development of which is carried out comprehensively and systematically, will be of particular importance. As the largest promising projects will become "North" and "South" streams, "Baltic system 2", ESPO. Being a country with the richest oil and gas reserves, the Russian Federation ranks leading place in the world for the supply of raw materials to other countries. The strategy, among other things, includes a project for the supply of domestic raw materials to China. According to estimates, it can become one of the largest export destinations. With the dynamic expansion of industries, the state has every opportunity to strengthen its economic condition and take its rightful place in the international system. Of particular importance in this case will be forecast estimates of the extraction and subsequent processing of raw materials, production and consumption of products, which are presented in the approved energy strategy. The expansion of industries will attract additional labor resources, thus ensuring more full employment of the population.

Illustration copyright Getty Images Image caption Liquefied natural gas from US shale fields first arrived in the UK in September 2016. Now it’s the turn of Northern Europe

Last week, two tankers carrying American liquefied natural gas (LNG) docked at ports in Poland and the Netherlands.

This is the first LNG from shale plays in the United States to be delivered to Northern Europe.

Poland agreed with the United States on spot supplies of LNG [on a spot basis, payment for the deal is made immediately] in May of this year in order to reduce dependence on gas coming through pipes from Russia. Last Friday, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said the same thing.

“American LNG has begun to flow regularly into Europe, offering additional diversification of supply sources and ensuring European energy security,” the minister said, noting Russia’s dominant position in the European gas market.

Is the American liquefied gas the well-being of Gazprom? A columnist for the BBC Russian Service talks about this Mikhail Smotryaev talked with the Deputy Head of the National Energy Security Fund Alexey Grivach.

Alexey Grivach: There are two aspects to this. Firstly, political propaganda: the current Polish authorities loudly declare that their goal is to completely abandon Russian gas, although from time to time this position is softened.

Against the backdrop of all these statements, Poland last year took a record volume of Russian gas under contract, despite the fact that LNG supplies from Qatar began last year, plus some more gas was purchased from Norway.

This means that there are words and there are real processes, economics and commerce, to which even Polish state-owned companies are not alien.

As for the long-term perspective, if we talk about the European market as a whole, the European Union decided to create a single market where there will be no national differences: all markets will be connected into a single infrastructure, will function according to the same rules, and so on.

This market has not yet been fully created, but movement in this direction is underway, and this goal must be achieved sooner or later (if we remember the effectiveness of decisions and their implementation in the European Union).

Then the question will be very simple: it doesn’t matter whether the gas is American or non-American.

Gas enters the European market and competes with each other. And if, for example, Poland takes more liquefied gas, or takes Norwegian gas, this does not mean, purely theoretically, that the European Union as a whole will take less Russian gas. Somewhere it has departed, somewhere it has arrived - this law of communicating vessels will continue to work here.

The same thing happened with Ukraine. So they say: we no longer buy Russian gas. They do not buy gas directly from Gazprom, but they take Russian gas from European traders, and where do they get their gas? Including Gazprom. If Ukraine bought gas under a direct contract, then European traders would take less gas from Gazprom.

This is a kind of gas dialectic. IN long term I personally do not see any serious, commercially justified threats to the position of Russian gas.

Who said that the new LNG will displace Russian gas - maybe it will displace Norwegian gas, which is more expensive and requires investment to maintain production levels? These questions are usually left aside. And as loud statements it will be presented as the fact that American liquefied gas has come to Poland, and now Poland will live in a new way. In reality it will be completely different.

BBC: Well, it came not only to Poland, but also to the Netherlands - one tanker to each country...

A.G.: Understand that one LNG tanker is approximately 100 million cubic meters of gas in pipeline equivalent. The tanker arrived for the first time in almost six months. And from Russia to Europe every day 500-600 million cubic meters are supplied.

BBC: Let's talk about shale gas. The profitability of its production and, therefore, its volumes depend on the price of gas, which, we recall, is tied to the price of oil. According to many analysts, a significant increase in oil prices cannot be expected today. Under these conditions, can shale gas occupy a noticeable niche in the world market?

A.G.: If we talk about shale gas production, then all projects outside the United States, according to by and large, did not take root. They showed their uncompetitiveness and inefficiency, and all investments were written off.

If you remember, several years ago Poland announced that it would become a net exporter of gas. Now it turned out that several dozen wells drilled turned out to be either empty or commercially unattractive, and the idea itself came to naught.

As for American LNG, firstly, it is not necessarily shale gas. Of course, increased production from shale plays a role, but last year, for example, the United States for a long time showed a general decrease in gas production, despite the fact that LNG exports from the Gulf of Mexico began last year.

Therefore, there is no need to say that shale gas will completely change the market. Demand for gas in the world is growing quite steadily. And this means that even if in some periods there is an excess of gas due to some kind of crisis - energy, economic - the market still balances out after some time.

This happened, for example, with projects in Qatar: when large capacities were put into operation, they suddenly found themselves unclaimed by the United States, because their own production suddenly began to grow. A couple of years of pressure on the market followed, and then the demand for gas quickly absorbed all this excess, and prices for LNG, say, in Asia, broke all conceivable and inconceivable records.

I think more needs to be said about the fact that security of supply must increase. The depoliticization of the process means that you can actually buy gas from various sources. Europe can buy more LNG, but the rationality of such decisions must win out, because this is the basis of competitiveness.

If you, like Lithuania or Poland, are ready to buy gas at twice the price, this means that globally you are becoming less competitive. If Lithuania, as a country that does not claim anything, can afford this, then the European Union, as a center of economic power, cannot afford to be globally uncompetitive by buying “democratic” gas and not buying “undemocratic” gas. Instead, the most reliable and economically attractive product is taken.

BBC: Russia usually has no disagreements with European buyers - with the exception of the times of the “gas wars” with Ukraine, when not all Russian gas stipulated under contracts reached Europe, sometimes in very significant volumes. The Europeans, as they say, “have no sediment left”?

A.G.: The disruptions are related to the behavior of the transit country. This problem lay exclusively in the contractual area, when the transit country, taking advantage of its monopoly position, considered it possible, for example, not to sign a contract for the purchase of gas, and took gas from the flow. But this is absolutely unacceptable behavior.

BBC: I agree, but for the end buyer this is hardly of fundamental importance - the gas has not reached him...

A.G.: Absolutely right, and that’s why we are taking into account with them all these transit risks, which are impossible to manage in normal mode. This is also in the interests of the end consumer. And if we compare pipeline gas and LNG in these parameters, then in the latter case there is much less safety. If we're talking about about short-term transactions, then gas may easily not reach consumers in Europe, because in Asia the price for it at that moment will be twice as high. This does not happen with pipeline gas.

BBC: That is, we can say that in general current situation Is the European gas market not threatened by any sudden and large-scale shocks?

A.G.: If we talk about the European market, one of the important trends is the decline in domestic production. This means that more imported gas will be needed. Additional sources of supply are meeting this growing need.

In addition, there are problems with other suppliers: Algeria or Norway cannot increase gas supplies. Therefore, when there is a shortage, it is Russian gas and LNG that compete to fill this niche. At the end of last year, Russian gas supplies increased by 30 billion cubic meters, and LNG by three billion. Who won the competition? In my opinion, the answer is obvious.