MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator...

However, some analysts attribute the drop in Russian gas exports to another major reason, Gazprom"s inflexible pricing policy, which could eventually lose the gas monopoly its European customers. However, officials at Gazprom do not plan a policy change. Neither do they see any reason to panic.

Deputy Energy Minister Sergei Kudryashov said on June 23 one of the problems with Russian gas exports was the lack of flexibility in liberalized European markets when the competition grows fierce. By Kudryashov"s estimate, demand for gas in Europe dropped by a mere 5% in the first quarter, while Russian exports plummeted by nearly 60%.

It transpires that, along with the shortfall in earnings, the key Russian gas exporter lost part of its control of the European gas market to competitors.

The next day, June 24, Gazprom"s Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev did his best to rebut criticism of the monopoly"s export policy. He admitted that supplies to Europe at the end of 2008 and

Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5