IEA Criticizes Gazprom Over Pipeline Monopoly
July 7, 2006 -- International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Claude Mandil criticized Russian energy giant Gazprom today for preventing other producers from gaining access to its pipeline network.
In an interview with the daily "International Herald Tribune," Mandil also said he could not obtain the company's investment figures.
(AFP)
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Russia's rising appetite for Central Asian gas is a direct result of the shifting fortunes of Gazprom, the state-run Russian company that controls lucrative exports. The company's total gas production has flatlined at around 550 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year. With major fields yielding less as they age, Gazprom has chosen to maintain its all-important gas balance by purchasing gas on the side -- from independent producers in Russia and from Russia's Central Asian neighbors -- instead of investing in the lengthy and costly development of untapped Arctic fields...(more)
See also:
Who's Afraid Of Gazprom? Controlling Gas Pipelines