Russian energy chief urges gas export rethink

Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled gas monopoly and the main supplier to the EU, should concentrate on supplying its domestic market to avoid shortages at home, one of the country’s leading liberals has argued.

Anatoly Chubais, architect of Russia’s 1990s privatisation programme and now the head of its former electricity monopoly, said: “I think that, in strategic terms, our priorities should not be Europe or China.


“We have this western stream, northern stream, south stream . . . .” he added, referring to pipeline projects such as Nord Stream and South Stream to export Russian gas to western Europe. “What I believe we need is a Russian stream. The Russian domestic demand is growing a lot. I think that Russia needs to restructure its strategy in this sector.”

Gazprom supplies a quarter of the EU’s gas. But there are concerns in the EU over the company’s continued ability to meet foreign demand and the way that it uses bilateral deals to divide member states .

Financial Times