Gazprom said higher gas sales to Europe boosted its first-quarter revenue and it may export more to the region than expected this year because of lower Dutch gas output and limited shipments of liquefied natural gas from the United States. Russia’s Gazprom, the world’s top gas producer, covers around a third of Europe’s gas needs and planned to ship between 165-170 billion cubic meters (bcm) to Europe this year, up from about 159 bcm in 2015. The EU has been trying to reduce its reliance on Russian gas amid tensions with Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. Gazprom on Wednesday posted a 5 percent increase in first-quarter revenue to 1.74 trillion rubles ($26.9 billion) year-on-year, due to higher gas sales to Europe in absolute terms and despite a […]