Rosneft Keen to Split Gazprom
The head of Russian energy company Rosneft and his counterpart at commodity trader Guvnor are promoting the idea of splitting Gazprom into transport and extraction companies, according to news agency RT.
The plan could allow Rosneft to put extra competitive pressure on its hydrocarbon rival, Gazprom, and improve its position in the Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.
According to newspaper Kommersant, this question is being discussed at the “highest level”.
If Gazprom is divided, Russia’s gas industry will become similar to the oil industry, where state-owned Transneft operates cross-country pipelines, and state-run Rosneft is engaged in crude production.
While the Russian oil industry has lots of private companies operating in the market, the LNG industry has been dominated by the Gazprom monopoly for the past decade. Gazprom has been under increasing pressure from its domestic rival in recent years.
The desire of Rosneft management to split Gazprom is understandable. Rosneft's gas assets have increased significantly, especially following the purchase of TNK-BP, and a controlling stake in Itera.
Competition with Rosneft will expose Gazprom to market prices, as it will be unable to keep control of mining contracts and pricing. The Kremlin could agree to the restructuring of Gazprom as its monopoly weakens.
Recent reports said the Rosneft claims natural gas deposits also targeted by Gazprom, while previously Gazprom and Rosneft interest did not cross, as the latter got licenses for oil fields, while Gazprom focused on gas production.
Last week Rosneft and ExxonMobil unveiled details of a $15-billion LNG project aimed at supplying Asia-Pacific markets challenging Gazprom’s monopoly on Russian gas exports.