The U.S. and some European opponents of Nord Stream 2 say it will make Europe too reliant on Russian gas, allowing Moscow to expand its political, economic and military influence. But other governments say it is vital to secure energy supplies, as gas prices surge and the threat of power outages looms.

The Company increased its gas exports to the countries beyond the FSU to 171.5 billion cubic meters, which is higher than the figure for the same period of 2020 by 6.6 per cent (or by 10.6 billion cubic meters).

Gain attributable to the owners of PJSC Gazprom amounted to RUB 1,550,299 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021.

Overall amount of Gazprom's investments to be used in 2022: RUB 1,757.7 billion. Gazprom's borrowings for 2022: RUB 272.789 billion. Final investment program and budget will be approved by the Gazprom Board of Directors.

It was noted that Russia has been a reliable supplier of gas to France for as many as 45 years, with exports over this period surpassing 427 billion cubic meters in total.

The regulator said a new subsidiary of Nord Stream 2 AG announced by the operator would need to submit a new application for certification.

The Company increased its gas supplies to Turkey (+98.1 per cent), Germany (+19.6 per cent), Italy (+18.3 per cent), Romania (+247.1 per cent), Serbia (+92.9 per cent), Bulgaria (+48.2 per cent), Poland (+7.3 per cent), Greece (+13.7 per cent), Slovenia (+53.3 per cent), and Finland (+10.8 per cent).

Russia has said that Nord Stream 2 is ready to begin commercial operations pending regulatory approval and that gas flows through the pipeline would help ease the current high European gas prices, which remain at sustained highs on winter supply concerns.

European gas prices have remained high through October and November, in part due to lower-than-expected imports from Russia and low levels of EU storage, especially in Gazprom-owned sites such as Rehden in Germany and Haidach in Austria.

According to preliminary data, Gazprom produced 422.6 billion cubic meters of gas in January–October of 2021, which is 15.8 per cent (or 57.7 billion cubic meters) more than in the same period of last year.