Gazprom executive seeks to assure over gas supplies

November 22, 2006 - 0:0
BRUSSELS (AFP) — Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom will ensure a steady flow of gas deliveries until 2020, a senior executive said Tuesday, dismissing concerns about the security of supplies.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Brussels on energy security, management committee member Alexander Medvedev said there was "no danger of a gas deficit", neither "this winter" nor "up to 2020".

Medvedev said Gazprom was capable of meeting "growing demand in Russia" and its "commitment to external markets" as well as emerging demand on new markets such as China.

Russia's increasingly hard-nosed approach to its vast energy reserves are fuelling concerns in European capitals, especially after Moscow halted gas deliveries to Ukraine at the beginning of the year in a dispute over prices.

The European Union relies on Russia for more than 40 percent of its gas imports and over 30 percent of its oil imports, according to figures from the European Commission.