MOSCOW: Russia’s top gas producer Gazprom plans to prioritise its home market over export sales because the winter will be cold and snowy, the head of its domestic gas selling business was quoted by Interfax, as saying.

The gas demand has surged partly in response to economies recovering from the pandemic, as well as low stocks. Dutch wholesale gas prices broke the 100 euro level for the first time on Tuesday amid wider energy market price hikes, supply concerns and low colder weather forecasts.

Gazprom, a major European supplier along with Norway, Algeria and LNG sellers, has been fulfilling its sales obligations under the long-term contracts but not adding more, contributing to the gas price surge on the spot market.

“I believe that the winter will be cold, as trees are full of ashberries,” Sergei Gustov, head of Gazprom-Mezhregiongas, which sells gas in Russia, was quoted, as saying, by Interfax news agency.

“As we had a very warm summer, so winter will be cold.”

Gustov, who oversees over 200 billion cubic metres of Mezhregiongas sales at home annually, was referring to a Russian, saying, which predicts a cold winter if mountain ash trees are full of red berries. He said this was his own prediction.

“I know for sure that [the] domestic market is a priority for Gazprom and all Russian buyers will be supplied with the gas,” he said.