Gazprom’s gas supplies to countries outside the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) increased by 13.1% between January 1 and October 15, 2021, to 152.2 billion cubic meters (bcm), by 17.6 bcm more than In a similar period in 2020, the Russian company announced.

“Gazprom continues to deliver gas at a level close to a record high,” the Russian group said in a message on the Telegram.

Also, Gazprom’s gas production between January 1 and October 15, 2021 rose by 16.6% to 399.4 billion cubic meters, while domestic gas deliveries increased by 16.6% to 26.1 bcm, according to Agerpres.

Natural gas prices hit new all-time highs in Europe’s benchmark market this month as the impact of rising energy costs shifted to equity and bond markets. At the TTF (Title Transfer Facility) hub in the Netherlands, quotations for natural gas increased by 15% on Monday, after closing the session on Friday with a decrease of 18%.

According to analysts, Europe is starting the winter season with the lowest level of gas stocks in more than a decade, raising fears about the reliability of winter supplies.

Russia, whose gas production and exports to the EU are already close to a record high, said it needs to complete filling its internal storage capacity before increasing deliveries to the European spot market. The Russian government has announced that it intends to complete the filling of internal storage capacity by the end of this month.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reiterated last week that no one in Europe had asked Russia to send an additional quantity of gas to calm rising gas prices on the spot market.