Gazprom and OMV discuss gas supplies, Nord Stream 2, and cultural cooperation

A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Executive Board of OMV, took place today in St. Petersburg.

The parties discussed strategic cooperation, focusing on Russian gas exports. It was noted that, according to estimates, in the period from January 1 through September 23, 2018, Gazprom had delivered 7.8 billion cubic meters of gas to Austria, an increase of 34.5 per cent from the same period of last year.

Particular attention at the meeting was paid to the progress of the Nord Stream 2 project. Alexey Miller informed Rainer Seele of the continuing pipelaying in Finland’s exclusive economic zone and the ongoing preparations in Germany’s territorial waters.

Cultural partnership was also discussed during the meeting. The parties noted that there was strong public interest in the “Old Masters from the Hermitage” exhibition that had opened at Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum in honor of the 50-year anniversary of Russian gas supplies to Austria. The exhibition features acclaimed works from the two Russian and Austrian museums. On October 5, the exclusive exhibition will open at the Hermitage Museum under the title “Imperial Capitals: St. Petersburg – Vienna. Masterpieces of Museum Collections.”

Background

OMV AG is Gazprom’s main partner in Austria. The companies cooperate in gas production, transportation and supplies.

On June 5, 2018, an Agreement was signed to extend until 2040 the existing contract between Gazprom Export and OMV Gas Marketing & Trading GmbH for Russian gas supplies to Austria. The contract had been valid until 2028.

June 1, 2018, marked 50 years since the start of Russian gas supplies to Austria.

In 2017, Gazprom set a new record for gas exports to Austria at 9.1 billion cubic meters, a rise of 50.3 per cent (3 billion cubic meters) from 2016 (6.1 billion cubic meters) and 33.7 per cent (2.3 billion cubic meters) from 2005, when the previous record had been reached (6.8 billion cubic meters).

Nord Stream 2 is the construction project for a gas pipeline with the annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.

In 2016, Gazprom and OMV launched “Imperial Capitals: St. Petersburg – Vienna,” a joint cultural project uniting the art and history of Russia and Austria. As part of the “Old Masters from the Hermitage” exhibition, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna selected 14 paintings by Rembrandt, van Dyck, Tintoretto, Botticelli and other great masters, pairing up the artworks based on their authorship, themes or compositional arrangements.