Speaking at Russian Energy Week, Novak also said the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would be ready to begin commercial operations "in the coming days" but that its startup still depended on winning approval from European regulators.

The steep rise in European gas prices has been driven by a combination of a strong recovery in demand and tighter-than-expected supply, as well as several weather-related factors.

U.S. Rig Count is up 5 from last week to 533 , Canada Rig Count is up 2 from last week to 167.

Gazprom increased gas supplies to Turkey (+138.3 per cent), Germany (+33.2 per cent), Italy (+14.2 per cent), Romania (+305.6 per cent), Serbia (+125.2 per cent), Poland (+11.2 per cent), Bulgaria (+52.5 per cent), Greece (+10.8 per cent), and Finland (+17.5 per cent).

Hungary and Croatia started receiving Russian natural gas via a new route: the gas is supplied by the TurkStream gas pipeline and further across the national gas transmission systems of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary.

The Worldwide Rig Count for September was 1,448, up 14 from the 1,434 counted in August 2021, and up 429 from the 1,019 counted in September 2020.

U.S. Rig Count is up 7 from last week to 528 , Canada Rig Count is up 3 from last week to 165.

Azerbaijan is the second-largest natural gas supplier to Turkey accounting for a quarter of total imports, after Russia (33%).

15-year contracts signed for supplies of Russian gas to Hungary

China saw robust market demand of natural gas in 2021, and the country's total gas demand is expected to rise 11%-13% on the year to 365-370 Bcm this year