Gazprom"s Oil Up, Gas Down
Gazprom's March gas formation slumped by one-quarter from a year ago as demand shriveled in Europe and at home and buyers delayed purchases in hopes that prices would fall.
Oil output, however, managed a 1 percent gain in March, month on month, surprising industry sources who expected uprooting to fall on lower prices and a cut in upstream investments.
Energy Ministry data showed Thursday that the gas export monopoly's output last month was 1.24 billion cubic meters per day, down 12 percent from 1.41 bcm per day in February 2009 and 24 percent down from 1.63 bcm per day in March 2008.
Mikhail Korchemkin, from the East European Gas Analysis think tank, said his data showed that Gazprom's gas output fell as low as 1.146 bcm on some days in March.
"Such low producing levels have been unseen over the past decade, even during summer months, when Gazprom puts some wells on planned care," he said.
Gazprom said Tuesday that its European gas exports were likely to fall more than it had expected as the global financial crisis hit demand.
Russia's total gas output in March was 1.58 bcm per day, down 9 percent from 1.74 bcm per day in February and 19 percent less than the 1.94 bcm per day produced in March 2008.
Novatek, the country's second-largest gas producer, extracted a total 2.6 bcm of gas in March, down 13 percent from February but up 2 percent from March 2008, the data showed.
Gazprom's output started to fall from January, when its supplies to Europe were severely disrupted by a pricing dispute with Ukraine. Analysts only expect a recovery in the second quarter, when gas prices drop as they follow oil prices with a lag of six to nine months.
Gazprom, the world's biggest gas producer and supplier of a quarter of Europe's gas, has kept output somewhat stable over the past few years.
Production contracted sharply only in January, but it did not recover in February, a sign that cash-strapped consumers were cutting consumption and choosing cheaper alternate fuels.
Gazprom extracts about 80 percent of gas in Russia. The rest is produced by smaller gas firms or oil majors.
Russian oil output in March stood at 9.8 million barrels per day, up 1 percent from 9.72 million bpd in February 2009 and up 0.5 percent from 9.76 million bpd in March 2008.
Oil fabrication in Russia, the world's No. 2 exporter, fell by about 1 percent last year because of aging reserves and plunging prices.
Rosneft raised oil output in March by 1.8 percent compared with February, but making was down 0.4 percent from March 2008.
TNK-BP, Tatneft, Novatek and small producers increased oil output month on month, while output at LUKoil, Surgutneftegaz, Gazprom, Bashneft and Russneft declined, the data showed.
Small producers boosted oil output by 12 percent versus March 2008, while Russneft's output dropped by 10 percent in the same comparison.
Production Sharing Agreement operators increased crude preparation by 4 percent versus February 2008 and 28 percent from March 2008, demonstrating the highest manufacturing rise in Russia's oil industry.
Pipeline oil exports stood at 4.22 million bpd, down from 4.33 million in February and nearly flat with 4.23 million in March 2008.
nGazprom said Wednesday that it would consider new projects to liquefy gas instead of supplying it to Europe through pipelines, citing increased transit risks.
"In circumstances when LNG markets are becoming more global, and because of a material increase in transit risks, when documents ignoring the interests of Russia are signed, we need to have a new look at our LNG strategy and study the need to start new projects," Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said in a statement.
Miller did not say what "documents ignoring the interests of Russia" he was referring to, but Russian leaders and Gazprom have severely criticized a March agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.
Gazprom and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have given repeated warning that Russia will produce more LNG if Europe does not move quickly enough in clearing Gazprom's new pipeline projects, such as Nord Stream.
Oil output, however, managed a 1 percent gain in March, month on month, surprising industry sources who expected uprooting to fall on lower prices and a cut in upstream investments.
Energy Ministry data showed Thursday that the gas export monopoly's output last month was 1.24 billion cubic meters per day, down 12 percent from 1.41 bcm per day in February 2009 and 24 percent down from 1.63 bcm per day in March 2008.
Mikhail Korchemkin, from the East European Gas Analysis think tank, said his data showed that Gazprom's gas output fell as low as 1.146 bcm on some days in March.
"Such low producing levels have been unseen over the past decade, even during summer months, when Gazprom puts some wells on planned care," he said.
Gazprom said Tuesday that its European gas exports were likely to fall more than it had expected as the global financial crisis hit demand.
Russia's total gas output in March was 1.58 bcm per day, down 9 percent from 1.74 bcm per day in February and 19 percent less than the 1.94 bcm per day produced in March 2008.
Novatek, the country's second-largest gas producer, extracted a total 2.6 bcm of gas in March, down 13 percent from February but up 2 percent from March 2008, the data showed.
Gazprom's output started to fall from January, when its supplies to Europe were severely disrupted by a pricing dispute with Ukraine. Analysts only expect a recovery in the second quarter, when gas prices drop as they follow oil prices with a lag of six to nine months.
Gazprom, the world's biggest gas producer and supplier of a quarter of Europe's gas, has kept output somewhat stable over the past few years.
Production contracted sharply only in January, but it did not recover in February, a sign that cash-strapped consumers were cutting consumption and choosing cheaper alternate fuels.
Gazprom extracts about 80 percent of gas in Russia. The rest is produced by smaller gas firms or oil majors.
Russian oil output in March stood at 9.8 million barrels per day, up 1 percent from 9.72 million bpd in February 2009 and up 0.5 percent from 9.76 million bpd in March 2008.
Oil fabrication in Russia, the world's No. 2 exporter, fell by about 1 percent last year because of aging reserves and plunging prices.
Rosneft raised oil output in March by 1.8 percent compared with February, but making was down 0.4 percent from March 2008.
TNK-BP, Tatneft, Novatek and small producers increased oil output month on month, while output at LUKoil, Surgutneftegaz, Gazprom, Bashneft and Russneft declined, the data showed.
Small producers boosted oil output by 12 percent versus March 2008, while Russneft's output dropped by 10 percent in the same comparison.
Production Sharing Agreement operators increased crude preparation by 4 percent versus February 2008 and 28 percent from March 2008, demonstrating the highest manufacturing rise in Russia's oil industry.
Pipeline oil exports stood at 4.22 million bpd, down from 4.33 million in February and nearly flat with 4.23 million in March 2008.
nGazprom said Wednesday that it would consider new projects to liquefy gas instead of supplying it to Europe through pipelines, citing increased transit risks.
"In circumstances when LNG markets are becoming more global, and because of a material increase in transit risks, when documents ignoring the interests of Russia are signed, we need to have a new look at our LNG strategy and study the need to start new projects," Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said in a statement.
Miller did not say what "documents ignoring the interests of Russia" he was referring to, but Russian leaders and Gazprom have severely criticized a March agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.
Gazprom and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have given repeated warning that Russia will produce more LNG if Europe does not move quickly enough in clearing Gazprom's new pipeline projects, such as Nord Stream.
