Future Gas Production in Russia: is the concern about lack of investment justified?

Since at least 2006, concern has been expressed by a number of commentators, both western and Russian, that Gazprom has not invested in future production sufficiently to guarantee that it can meet its market obligations and, particularly, its long term contract export obligations to European customers.1 This argument runs that, although Gazprom may have huge reserves, it has not paid enough attention to developing them. Instead, at the behest of the Russian government, it has invested hugely in the Russian oil and electricity sectors, as well as exotic overseas projects in African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries.

By: Jonathan Stern