FT: A cap on Gazprom’s ambitions
It is more than 20 years since Lithuania broke free from the Soviet Union. But the Baltic state remains tethered to Moscow, relying on Gazprom , the Russian state-controlled energy group, for its gas.
Now, aided by new EU rules, Lithuania is fighting to shake off Gazprom’s grip. Its way of doing so illustrates the challenges confronting Russia ’s energy champion in Europe, its biggest market.
Gazprom share price and gas sales
Lithuania is restructuring its national gas utility, which is 37 per cent-owned by Gazprom, spinning off its pipeline network into a new state-owned entity. It is doing so under EU rules designed to increase competition in the energy sector by forcing companies to separate supply from transmission. Gazprom must sell its stake in the pipeline company by October 2014. MORE