MOSCOW, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Russian energy monopoly Gazprom said European consumers may have to pay for twice the amount of gas than they do under their current contract scheme.
Alexander Medvedev, the deputy chief executive at Gazprom, said long-term contracts and so-called take-or-pay schemes with European natural gas customers probably won't change.
"This year, most likely, virtual exports will double compared with last year," he was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying.
Gazprom last year received payments for 16 billion cubic feet of gas under take-or-pay provisions.
Gas demand from European consumers is on the decline in part because the global economic recession.
Europe is also looking for new energy resources as it tries to break the Russian grip on the regional energy sector.
Meanwhile, global gas markets became over-supplied because of the boom in the exploitation of shale deposits in the United States.
