gazprom

Russia's state-controlled Gazprom natural gas giant acknowledged for the first time Saturday that it had briefly reduced gas supplies to Europe amid a spell of extreme cold.

Russia's Gazprom said Monday Moscow wants the European Union to clarify how Europe's new common energy policy can be implemented without harming Russia's interests.

Russia's natural gas monopoly OAO Gazprom said Monday its profit for the first nine months of last year fell more than one-third compared with a year earlier.

French electricity giant EDF will join Russia's Gazprom in supporting the South Stream gas pipeline under the Black Sea, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday.

With a new pipeline planned along the bed of the Baltic Sea, the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom is driving a wedge between Eastern and Western Europe.

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom on Wednesday reported a 62 percent drop in net profit for the first quarter of 2009, when the company was hit hard by disruptions of gas supplies to Europe and the plunging value of the ruble.

Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer, said Friday it hoped to sign key deals in Azerbaijan next week, raising the possibility that Russia will secure Azeri gas to feed pipelines to Europe.

In his zeal to monopolize gas supplies, Vladimir V. Putin committed Gazprom to long-term contracts for gas at a cost far in excess of current world prices.