Gazprom, Gasunie Consider LNG Cooperation

Russia’s Gazprom and the Netherlands’ Gasunie are considering stepping up cooperation in the LNG sector, reads a note released by the top Russian gas producer. Russian newspapers also reported that the two companies could work together on shale gas projects.

The two companies, which already signed documents to promote Strategic Cooperation in May 2013, reportedly agree on the need to create additional gas supply routes to Europe, in an apparent thaw of ties between Amsterdam and Moscow, severely compromised in the aftermath of the MH17 downing in Easter Ukraine in July 2014. 

Gazprom’s Alexey Miller met with Han Fennema, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Gasunie, which controls over 15,000 kilometers of pipeline in the Netherlands and northern Germany. The gas infrastructure company also holds a 9% in Nord Stream. 

‘Alexey Miller and Han Fennema discussed the prospects for further cooperation in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector. Among other things, they noted the need for the infrastructure development within the segment of using small scale LNG as a fuel for land and marine transport’ Gazprom wrote on Wednesday.

According to Russian media outlet Sputnik, Gazprom and Gasunie are also considering the possibility of increasing ‘cooperation in the area of shale gas extraction.’