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Deputy Energy Minister Sergei Kudryashov leveled indirect criticism at on Tuesday for losing a portion of the market in Europe during the period of peak gas prices.
Gazprom exported just 40 percent of its last year's volumes to Europe in the first quarter, while Europe's total imports shrank by just 14 percent, he said.
"It's about our incompetence to work flexibly under the conditions of acute competition on the liberalized European markets," he said at an oil and gas industry conference.
Competitors were able to increase their market share by offering discounts, he said.
Gazprom's contracts with Turkmenistan and other Central Asian suppliers also displayed lack of foresight, said Kudryashov, a former vice president. As a result, Gazprom had to deliver Central Asian gas to Europe instead of its own output, hurting profits and federal budget revenues.
Energy Official Bemoans Lost Gas Sales
24 June 2009
The Moscow Times
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