Commenting on a statement by Gazprom on February 2 that Austria had imported 76.2% more gas this January than it had in January 2015, the country's dominant supplier OMV said that was because deliveries last year had been low for unspecified "technical reasons." "We are however back to normal levels this year," a spokesperson said. Gazprom said exports to Austria in 2015 were up by 11.5% in 2015 on the year but gave no volumes for either period.

Such a strategy may be economically rational for Gazprom: already-low prices in the European gas market mean it could relatively easily push prices to a level at which it would be unprofitable to ship LNG from the US — and in doing so defend its market share in a region which accounts for the bulk of its profits.

Medvedev also downplayed an expected influx of liquefied natural gas to Europe from the United States, saying Gazprom's gas would be cheaper.

Стороны обсудили вопросы экспорта российского газа в Италию. В 2015 году, по предварительным данным, он вырос на 12,6% по сравнению с 2014 годом и составил около 24,4 млрд куб. м газа, а с 1 по 20 января 2016 года увеличился на 24,5% по сравнению с аналогичным периодом 2015 года. Италия является одним из ключевых экспортных рынков «Газпрома» и в 2015 году заняла третье место среди стран дальнего зарубежья по объему поставок российского газа.

According to preliminary figures for 2015, the gas deliveries grew by 23.6 per cent to 1.7 billion cubic meters.

Nord Stream 2 will be built, according to Gazprom’s chairman of the board, Viktor Zubkov. “This means that customers will receive gas at favorable prices, but for this we need reliable sources of supply and uninterrupted means of transportation,” he said.

Ukraine, once one of Russia’s biggest foreign gas buyers, had a debt of more than $29 billion before Tuesday’s bill, according to Gazprom. Naftogaz has demanded almost $26 billion from Gazprom in Stockholm arbitration, claiming it overpaid for supplies and was paid too little for transit, with a court ruling not expected before the middle of the year.

Particular attention was given to the Nord Stream 2 project. The parties noted that in light of the declining European gas production, the construction of this gas pipeline was crucial for meeting the growing Russian gas demand in Europe in the future.

Russia’s OJSC Rosneft has entered a deal with BP PLC to dissolve their Ruhr Oel GMBH (ROG) joint venture as part of a plan by the companies to restructure their refining and petrochemical businesses in Germany.

Nord Stream-2 project would develop rapidly in 2016. The pipeline extension project continues to move ahead, despite opposition to from several European countries