Gazprom considers 30 pct cut in investment

MOSCOW — Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled gas monopoly, said Thursday it may cut its investment program by 30 percent this year due to weaker finances amid the global economic downturn.

The Gazprom deputy chief for finances, Andrei Kruglov, told a news conference that “the current difficult situation will call for a change of plans.” He insisted, however, that Gazprom has enough cash and credit facilities to maintain a high level of liquidity.

The board of directors will consider a new budget in September, Kruglov said.

The company’s board earlier approved a 920 billion ruble ($29.4 billion) investment program for 2009.

Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said Wednesday that the company expects sales to drop by about 40 percent this year despite increased consumption in Europe in recent months.

Gazprom is Russia’s largest company and the world’s biggest gas producer. It has been hit hard by plunging commodity prices and flagging demand.

Observers have said Gazprom needed to cut its investments in order to maintain a good balance sheet.

Valery Nesterov, an oil and gas analyst with investment bank Troika Dialog, said the announcement shows that “the company has a flexible planning and takes into account the changing environment.”

A recent announcement of a year-long delay in the launch of several major gas fields and a cut in investment are not likely to cause a gas shortage, Nesterov said. “The main risks are related to the transportation of the gas to consumers,” he said.

Russia turned off the taps to Ukraine in a January dispute over prices and payments, sharply reducing supplies to several European countries further West.

Foreign investment is also likely to help Russia boost its gas production to meet a future hike in demand.

France’s Total and Russian gas firm Novatek on Wednesday unveiled a deal to jointly develop a gas field in western Siberia and pledged to invest some $900 million. The announcement was the first major foreign investment in Russia’s energy sector this year.