Gazprom's grandeur fades as Europe abandons Russian gas

Reuters

Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 12:03 AM 9 min read

(Reuters) - When the CEO of Russian authorities state elephantine Gazprom, Alexei Miller, opened a lavish Italian palazzo-styled gathering successful cardinal St Petersburg to location the company's export limb 11 years ago, helium augured a aboriginal funded by European sales.

"This is symbolic," helium said, referring to the modern caller offices successful Russia's astir European city. "Europe volition progressively request Russian gas."

Instead, the opulent offices person travel to symbolize Gazprom's accelerated decline, dragged down by the astir full nonaccomplishment of European markets aft the warfare successful Ukraine ruptured Russia's ties with the West.

Reeling nether multi-billion-dollar losses and scrambling for savings, the institution is present considering putting the palazzo up for merchantability on with different luxury properties it owns, according to a Gazprom enforcement and different root with cognition of interior discussions astatine Gazprom.

Gazprom is arguably the Russian concern hardest deed by the planetary sanctions imposed aft Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine 3 years ago. Although Russia's system has been resilient, increasing signs of strain person appeared successful respective industries. Reuters has antecedently reported that President Vladimir Putin is acrophobic arsenic dense subject spending distorts the wider economy.

The fig of unit astatine Gazprom Export, erstwhile the astir prosperous portion of the company, overseeing Soviet and Russia's state income to Europe for implicit fractional a century, has shrunk to conscionable a fewer twelve employees, the aforesaid 2 sources told Reuters.

That's down from 600 employees 5 years ago, astatine the highest of Russian exports to Europe. The imaginable merchantability of the gathering and cuts astatine the portion person not been antecedently reported.

Gazprom's media section and the Russian vigor ministry did not respond to elaborate requests for remark connected the story's findings.

With nary European sales, the remaining workers are focused chiefly connected litigation with erstwhile EU buyers, the sources told Reuters. Gazprom Export is "just a shell," 1 of the sources said.

Alexei Grivach, from pro-Kremlin deliberation vessel the National Energy Security Fund, said Gazprom's little glamorous absorption successful the adjacent aboriginal volition beryllium to bring state to much Russian homes.

"Gazprom has been handed the societal task of gasification and unafraid state proviso to the system and the colonisation astatine debased regulated prices," helium said.

Reuters spoke to 3 executives and fractional a twelve erstwhile and existent employees for this communicative connected the extent of alteration astatine what utilized to beryllium Russia's astir invaluable company. All requested anonymity, citing fearfulness of nonrecreational repercussions.