The national treasure must be fed: Gazprom focuses on the Russian market

Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to Neft and Capital on the Gazprom's strategy and tactics in the domestic gas market.

The expert recalled that most of the gas outlets (the "last mile" of the pipe) in Russia belong not to Gazprom, but to enterprises. But the gas holding company is unlikely to even want to buy out these pipelines itself.

"Most of the gas distribution networks in Russia are usually unprofitable. When the unified gas distribution system collapsed in the 1990s, hundreds of private traders appeared. Gazprom began consolidating in the early 2000s, but not for profit, but because these private traders had mostly reduced assets to a deplorable state. Something had to be done with the infrastructure, and the company, in fact, fulfilled the state task of resuscitating gas distribution after the chaos of the 1990s.

I'm not sure that they have made a lot of profit for the holding over all these decades. This is not a growth point, but rather an additional burden. Gazprom is unlikely to want to monopolize the market. He would rather give up some of these assets. The problem is that there is no one to give it to," the expert says.

"For many years, the Gas Holding has been trying to weaken the regulation of gas pricing or at least partially exclude some consumers from regulation. Unfortunately, with high inflation, the government is unlikely to do this. Tax relief is one thing, but an increase in gas prices, which accounts for up to 54% of the country's energy mix, is another. After all, this will greatly affect inflation, which will affect both industrial production and the social sector," Alexey Belogoryev concluded.