The impact of the economic crisis on Russian and CIS gas markets

Simon Pirani's study updates the outlook for CIS gas markets in the wake of the global recession which has reduced demand throughout the region. Recovery of gas demand in both CIS and European markets is likely to be slow and this has already impacted on production exports and investment.

With gas production down around 10% and exports to Europe around 25% the impact on Gazprom's revenues has been severe and investments principally in Yamal Peninsula development have been delayed. The prospects for avoiding a repeat of the January 2009 Russia-Ukraine crisis have improved and the potential for such conflicts to cause disruption in Europe will be greatly reduced following the completion of the first Nord Stream pipeline in 2011-12.

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