Gazprom calls for gas price deregulation

摘要

Alexei Miller,chief executive of Russian gas giant Gazprom,has called on the Russian government to deregulate domestic gas prices,although once again he has stopped short of suggesting that Gazprom should be broken up.Miller proposed the cancellation of caps on gas prices for industrial consumers,including power producers,who collectively account for 70% of Gazprom's domestic market.However,the move has been widely seen as part of ongoing negotiations on gas prices for the next few years between Gazprom and the Russian government,and most industry observers have played down the likelihood of total deregulation.For example,directly regulated contracts for electricity supplies will continue for several more years,so a quick end to regulating gas prices is seen as unlikely,and could put many companies out of business while pushing up inflation.Others have indicated that liberalisation would only be realistic once Gazprom's stranglehold on foreign and domestic markets was broken.