Gazprom Improves Electronic Sales Platform
Gazprom Export has increased the number of delivery options at its electronic sales platform (ESP) in Europe, it announced on December 3.
ESP now enables buyers to sign framework agreements with a contract period lasting up to January 2022, it said, compared with a previous limit of one calendar year. This opens up options for longer delivery periods, including season-ahead and year-ahead.
Up until now the platform has only offered day-ahead, balance-of-month, months-ahead and quarter-ahead delivery.
“The platform now offers a new standardised commercial product,” Gazprom Export explained. “The framework agreement now includes a description of deal procedures,” it said, noting that it would also roll out intraday delivery as well.
The company has done away with a 1bn m3 restriction on contract obligations within one commercial framework agreement, it said. It has also simplified the procedure for confirming transactions, reducing paperwork.
“The electronic trading platform of Gazprom Export has established itself as an effective and reliable trading tool,” Gazprom Export director Elena Burmistrova said. “We expect that, thanks to innovations, market interest in our platform will increase.”
ESP has helped Gazprom Export utilise spare pipeline capacity and sell to customers otherwise unable or unwilling to buy Russian gas under long-term contracts.
Some 1.36bn m3 of gas was sold on the exchange in November, according to Gazprom data.