The gas giant Gazpromonce one of the main influence levers of the Kremlin in the world, face a deep crisis after the European Union (EU) stopped demanding Russian gas as retaliation for the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
The right eye of the Russian president, Vladimir Putinduring the last quarter of the century, a recently began deep restructuring processsince the Chinese alternative has not yet met the created expectations.
Los income from the European flankthat represented a 40% of the totalnot only are they now vetoedbut the supply through the gas pipelines Nord Stream es practically impossible to resume due to the damages suffered after the explosions suffered in 2022.
This year also started with the Closing of the pipe that crosses Ukraineso only some supplies to Europe persist through the gas pipeline that passes through Türkiye, however this does not provide sufficient income to compensate for the great losses suffered.
Compared, Russia exports daily around 50 million cubic meters of gas to Europe through Turkstreamcompared to almost 500 million cubic meters exported in 2020.
Restructuring: Sales and cuts
One of the problems facing experts to analyze the data of Russian companies is their scarce transparency and accounting makeup.
In this regard, Alexander Diúkovone of the main managers of the Gazprom conglomerate, said today in the framework of the International Economic Forum of St. Petersburg that The gasist is also trying to coordinate better with the government and become more transparentalthough it is only with the Ministry of Finance.
“This Mutual trust will increase between oil companies and the ministryin addition to allowing you to make more effective fiscal decisions, “he said.
But in 2023when Gazprom gave work directly and indirectly to almost half a million people, admitted his first losses since 1999a negative record of 583,000,000 million rubles (more than 7,000 million dollars).
On the other hand, the account data presented last March in relation to 2024 diametrically contradict those that presented only a month later, passing losses of more than one billion rubles (more than 15 billion dollars) to net benefits close to the same figure.
According to the company’s internal documents, the bad results led the consortium to initiate an unprecedented transformation plan that includes Reduce from 4,100 to 2,500 (almost 40%) employees from its headquarters in St. Petersburgthe closure of international offices such as those of Brussels and Tokyo, among other measures, as well as the closure of filial companies and the sale of assets.
Last year the company announced the Sale of numerous assetsamong which are luxury properties As the headquarters of the Gazprom Exports subsidiary, a neighboring historical building of the Alexandrinsky Theater, in the center of San Petersburg, in addition to vacation residences that they offered as prizes for their employees, and others.
Other transformation projects can also go through diversification, when in April They announced that they would produce Bosch brand appliances without the permission of the German company.
Reorientation to the domestic market and Asia
Paradoxically, the Connection and access to gas nationwide It was one of the priorities of Gazprom, which nevertheless reoried towards the easy income of the export to the West and procrastinating for decades its task of taking the supply of gas to all corners of Russia.
Now, closed the western market, where the Russian gasist had concentrated most of its efforts, it looks forced to reorient China and the domestic marketthat failed and fulfillment project.
The agreements recently signed between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, And his Chinese counterpart, Xi JinpingGazprom’s project imbues with hope with the Construction of a gas pipeline (Siberia-2 force) with capacity for 50,000 million cubic meters per yearsince the 38,000 million of the current Siberia-1 force are insufficient to satisfy the industry of the Asian neighbor.
However, this also falls short for Gazprom’s income, because experts such as Mikhail Krutijin indicate that China acquires Russian gas at a very lowered priceas is also the case with its partners of the postsovietic community of independent states, to those who sell gas up to three or four times below the price set to customers from Central Europe.
On the other hand, Russian interior gasification materialized in April with the announcement of the Belogorsk-Jabárovsk gas pipeline project828 kilometers long, which will also link the lines of the force of Siberia.
