Sales for Q1 2020 delivery made by Gazprom on its online platform accounted for its largest share so far of the firm's total revenue from gas sales to Europe, excluding the Baltic states, and Turkey.
Sales prices for monthly sales to the region suggest that online platform sales for first-quarter delivery were responsible for about 12.7 percent of Gazprom's first-quarter sales revenue earned from these markets and about 6.8 percent of overall first-quarter gas sales revenue. They accounted for just 4.1 percent earned from these markets in January-March 2019, and 3.1 percent overall, underlining the significance that quicker online sales played early this year.
Online sales set a quarterly record of nearly 15.5 percent of total sales by volume to the region and generated around €706.1 million or 52.7 billion roubles, up from €448.6 million or Rbs33.6 billion a year earlier, based on a conversion factor of 10.286 kWh/m³ used by the firm.
However, online sales' share of total revenue could fall over the rest of the year. Weak demand owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and high start-of-summer stocks have pressured European hub prices from the front of the curves, while also reducing the scope for quick sales to these markets this summer.
Gazprom's market share may have already deteriorated more in Europe than elsewhere in the first quarter. The firm's sales of 39.6 billion m³ of pipeline gas to Europe, excluding the Baltic states, and Turkey in January-March accounted for 29.1 percent of the 136.4 billion m³ of total sales, including those to China, former Soviet Union countries, domestically and as LNG. This was lower than a year earlier.
