How short memories are! There was an extreme glut of gas in Europe in the 2018-2020 seasons. Gas prices during summer of 2020 dropped to less than $65 per million cubic metre on the European gas hubs. Gazprom played the role of involuntary swing producer, adjusting its pipeline exports to accommodate the sharp decline in demand for its gas, plus the oversupply of LNG that had existed for several years. Making significant losses on its gas exports to Europe, especially on the route running via Ukraine, where transit tariffs are two times higher than on alternative routes, Gazprom refrained from launching a price war, and instead “waited out” the glut as a price taker, thus bearing both the volume risk and the price risk.
The Rude Awakening: Europe Is Struggling to Secure Gas Supplies — Valdai Club
