They say Gazprom is doomed to decline since it gets more and more problems. The company cannot boost NG production since 2001. At this, Gazprom costs only 1/3 of its cost in 2008. Natural gas dropped in price by 30% over the last few years. The USA is today’s number one in terms of NG production. Russia’s NG exports keeps declining etc.
Gazprom Under Threat
So, Western media report that Gazprom keeps losing its power. One of the latest problems is lower demand for natural gas in the domestic market. Moreover, Gazprom keeps losing its ground in Europe. Last year, the company’s net profit declined by 37%. There were some other problems. What are the reasons behind them?
Gabe Collins form The Diplomat seems to know the answers to these questions. Not so long ago he published an article called Russia: Can The Gas Empire Strike Back?
Some of the major reasons are inflexible pricing and Russia’s intension to use natural gas as some kind of a weapon of foreign policy and manipulation against some European countries including Ukraine.
The chart below, courtesy of Masterforex-V Academy, reflects the current state of affairs in the market of Gazprom’s stock:
