Russian giant Gazprom said its natural gas exports to Europe rose over the period of first five months in 2017, compared to the corresponding period last year.
The company exported 9.5 billion cubic meters, 13.3 percent more than in the same period of 2016.
In total, Gazprom has exported a record 179.3 billion cubic meters in 2016, 12.5 percent above the 2015 volumes, with its largest buyers being Germany, Turkey and Italy. On its own, Germany imported 49.8 billion cubic meters, reaching the highest ever level, Gazprom representatives noted during a press conference.
The company is continuing the development of the North Stream 2 gas pipeline project, that will have an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas.
It has also started the construction of the TurkStream gas pipeline, that will be delivering 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey via its first stream, while the second stream will add a further 15.75 billion cubic meters to southern and southeastern Europe.