The Guardian: Gazprom to refund gas buyers in Europe as sales practices inquiry start

The Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom is to refund 78bn roubles (£1.5bn) to gas customers on the continent, it said on Thursday just days after the European commission started an investigation into its sales practices.

Gazprom revealed that its first-quarter net profits had plunged by almost a quarter to 357bn roubles as foreign buyers scaled down demand due to warmer weather and the group opted to compensate buyers for previous high prices.

To add to the company's troubles the Russian government has proposed sharp increases in the mineral extraction tax for natural gas in the next few years, which could impinge on the company's gas production, even potentially making some fields unprofitable to develop.    MORE