Europeans court Gazprom as demand trumps rhetoric (Globe and Mail, 23 Jun 2006, Page B9)

---

Europeans court Gazprom as demand trumps rhetoric
BY GREGORY L. WHITE, MOSCOW
Globe and Mail
23 Jun 2006

Russia’s OAO Gazpromhas lined up a series of agreements in recent weeks to expand its reach into European markets, a sign that the Continent’s hunger for natural gas appears to be overriding concerns about growing dependence on Russian supply.

“ These transactions are the best answer to the speculation about security of supply,” Gazprom deputy chief executive officer Alexander Medvedev said in an interview this week after signing a 20-year contract with Denmark’s state-owned DONG Energy A/S that will bring Russian gas to the Danish market for the first time starting in 2011.

“For us, Gazprom is a very reliable company,” said Kurt Pedersen, executive vice-president at DONG. “This really strengthens our supply.”

Under the deal, DONG also agreed to sell Gazprom some of the gas it now exports to the United Kingdom, helping Gazprom meet its target of expanding its... read more...