“Today, we signed a number of important documents aimed at further advancing the dialogue with our strategic partner OMV. Our relationship is no longer limited to business. By consistently enhancing our cooperation, we are moving toward our ambitious goals – increasing the supplies of Russian oil and gas to Europe and developing the scientific and technical potential of our companies.”

The deal, which resolves arbitration proceedings between E.ON and Gazprom, will lead to a positive one-off effect of about 380 million euros ($425 million) on E.ON's core earnings (EBITDA) in the first quarter of 2016.

It says that two thirds of the gas will flow towards the Central European Gas Hub in Baumgarten, Austria. “This hub offers ideal connectivity and can handle large flows to central, east, southeast and south European countries, boosting their gas markets to comparable levels of liquidity and competiveness as in northwest Europe.”

The parties addressed strategic bilateral cooperation. It was noted that the collaboration between Gazprom and Chinese energy companies and financial institutions was consistently developing.

In 2015, the total overdue debt increased by 19.8 per cent, from RUB 127 billion to RUB 152.1 billion; the gas payment rate decreased by 1.4 per cent to 96.2 per cent. The debt is held mainly by the population, heating companies, and electric power enterprises. Over 80 per cent of the debt is borne by the consumers of the North Caucasian Federal District (RUB 48.6 billion or 81.4 per cent of the total consumer debt in Russia as of January 1, 2016).

The suppliers were chosen after a tender award. The tender covers 2,500 km of large-diameter pipes with a total weight of roughly 2.2mn metric tons. In an announcement on March 11, the consortium said that it had chosen three firms for the supply: Germany-based Europipe for 40% of the required steel pipes; Russia's United Metallurgical Company (OMK) for 33%; and Russian firm Chelyabinsk Pipe-Rolling Plant (Chelpipe) for the remaining 27%.

Gazprom and Bank of China Limited, London Branch entered today in Shanghai into a five-year EUR 2 billion loan facility agreement.

Tarija hosted a working meeting between Alexey Miller and Evo Morales, President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. The parties discussed a wide range of issues relating to the ongoing and future energy cooperation. This collaboration was noted to be strategic and long-term.

The first was that Europe has a multiplicity of suppliers and that, in terms of gas at least, its energy security is good; the second is that Statoil does not pursue a market share policy but instead focuses on the need for a predictable market environment to enable it to maintain current levels of piped gas deliveries to Europe for the next 20 years or so.

Gazprom held the eleventh annual Investor Day in New York and London.