MOSCOW (Bloomberg) -- OAO Gazprom, the world's largest natural-gas producer, is targeting record sales to European customers next year as the continent grows more reliant on Russian supplies.

Gazprom plans to send 157.7 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe in 2008, Deputy Head of Exports Sergei Chelpanov told reporters in Moscow yesterday. Chelpanov also raised this year’s forecast for European exports to between 148 billion and 149 billion cubic meters from 147 billion.
“The long-term obligations are continuing to grow,” Chelpanov said. “The price is good,” he added, declining to give a specific figure.
The Russian company, chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, delivered 151 billion cubic meters of gas to European consumers last year, or about a quarter of their needs. Europe will need to import 50 percent more gas by 2030 as North Sea supplies dry up, according to the International Energy Agency.
European consumers will be charged $300 for 1,000 cubic meters next year, Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev told RIA Novosti on Nov. 12. The company forecasts an average price of between $263 and $265 for 1,000 cubic meters this year, Moscow-based Gazprom said last month.