The Big Red Machine

In ice hockey parlance, the term 'Big Red Machine' was synonymous with the Russian national team (particularly in the days of the USSR).

Over the past decade or so, the same moniker could easily be applied to Gazprom and the Russian energy industry in general.

However it appears that 'the times are a-changing', for the world’s largest natural-gas producer.

Bloomberg reports that Gazprom has been downgraded to  “sell” from “hold” by ING Groep.

ING analyst Igor Kurinnyy, said in a report: “The emergence of unconventional gas poses a serious risk for Gazprom’s oil-linked export prices in Europe,”



Gazprom, the dominant gas supplier in Europe,  is facing increasing competition from production from shale gas and other unconventional conventional sources, in addition to liquefied natural gas infrastructure and a new gas pipeline connecting China to Turkmenistan, a rival producer.

Given the spin that is starting to emerge from Russia, the Big Red Machine may become the appropriate name for the Russian 'anti-shale' propaganda machine.

Source: St. Petersburg Times