Russian giant may sell direct to UK

By Andrew Cave (Telegraph.)

Russian gas giant Gazprom has reiterated its ambitions to be a major player in the UK, as part of efforts to become a truly global group.

Analysts have speculated that Gazprom could attempt a takeover of Centrica
The company, which provides a quarter of Europe's wholesale gas to domestic suppliers, is reported to be mulling plans to cut out the middle man and sell direct to households in Britain - the only fully liberalised energy market in Europe.

One report said it planned to use its own brand name for a domestic sales push, undercutting Centrica's British Gas brand and other suppliers. Another claimed the Russian company might team up with UK energy producers to build gas-fired power stations in Britain. Analysts have speculated for more than a year that Gazprom could attempt a takeover of Centrica.

Philip Dewhurst, a spokesman for Gazprom Marketing and Trading, a Gazprom subsidiary in the UK, said: "There are no immediate plans to launch a direct UK consumer gas business but we cannot rule it out.

"We want to become a global energy player and have very large reserves. We have a small business retail company that we bought in the UK eight months ago and it is going very well with sales up 300pc since we acquired it. We do not undercut because we have a big position in the market. People come to us because we have access to reliable supplies of gas."

Rivals gave a muted response. Richard Frost, spokesman for nPower, which has 2.5m UK gas customers, said: "The market is very competitive at the moment and so we know what tough competition looks like. We're confident that we will be able to respond to any new entrants."

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Last week, Gazprom announced a €400m (£270m) joint venture in Germany with energy supplier Soteg to build an 800mw power station.