Putin Explains, the EU’s Spot Markets Make Gas Four Times More Expensive Than Gas Supplied by Gazprom

Oct. 22, 2021 (EIRNS)—As TASS reports, gas supplied by Gazprom to Europe under long-term contracts costs the EU countries four times less than gas purchased on the spot market, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club at Sochi, yesterday. “Those European companies that receive gas from Gazprom under long-term contracts receive it four times cheaper [than those who buy gas on the spot market]. It is not about a percentage figure but it is four times [cheaper]. And Gazprom does not make any super-profits,” the President stated.

“We are not crying about this, because we are interested in long-term contracts, in long-term mutual obligations. In this case we provide an opportunity to invest in production and provide the required volumes for our consumers. It is stable and reliable,” he said..

Putin recalled that the latest policy the EU countries pursued in the sphere of gas market regulation implied abandoning long-term contracts in favor of spot contracts, which are supposedly a more market-based instrument. However, in 2021, it turned out that it was more profitable to supply gas to Asia and Latin America, rather than to Europe, which was one of the reasons for the current crisis, Putin stated.