Gazprom has lost exports to Europe: Russian gas can also be very expensive

Russian gas supplies to Europe fell by a quarter in April. And Ukraine is not the only reason for the sharp decline in supplies. The specifics of supply pricing could lead to the fact that in the second month of spring, Russian gas prices exceed the cost of LNG.

In April, Gazprom's pipeline deliveries to Europe via the only remaining route, via the Turkish Stream, decreased by more than a quarter compared to March. Despite the suspension of LNG exports from Qatar and the UAE, the Russian company lost exports to Europe to 40.3 million cubic meters per day, according to the platform of European operators of UGS ENTSOG.

This is the lowest figure since June last year and below the volumes of April 2025. At that time, 41 million cubic meters per day were supplied to Europe. In monthly volumes, Gazprom's exports to the region will decrease by 414 million cubic meters compared to March, which currently cost more than $ 220 million on the European market.

As EADaily reported, one of the reasons for the decline in supplies is the suspension of gas imports to Ukraine, where Russian gas was resold by European traders.

However, this is not the only reason, said Alexey Grivach, Deputy Director of the National Energy Security Fund (NFEB).

"The heating season is over, and prices are very high," the expert says.

So, the biggest drawdown occurred in the supply of Hungary and Slovakia — minus 6.4 million cubic meters per day. Next comes Romania, including Ukraine — 3.6 million cubic meters per day. Next are Serbia and Greece.

It is likely that in April, Russian pipeline gas could become more expensive than LNG. The specifics of pricing for long-term contracts is that prices for the next month are formed depending on stock prices in the previous month, and gas supply quotes on the TTF exchange for a month in advance in Europe in March amounted to at least $ 600 per thousand cubic meters, and now reach $ 538.

As reported by EADaily, the stop of LNG exports from Qatar and the UAE have reduced the supply of liquefied natural gas to the world market due to the Iranian war. The European regulator warns that without additional sources of storage countries The EU will not be able to fill up to a sufficiently high level. At the same time, bans on the import of Russian LNG began in April, and in the summer restrictions will be applied to pipeline gas from Russia.