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Gazprom Export head Burmistrova

steps down

RUSSIA RUSSIA’S state-owned gas supplier Gazprom China. At the present rate, its exports to Europe
announced on March 10 that Elena Burmis- will amount to only 20 bcm in 2023.
Burmistrova once said trova was stepping down as head of its export With the Nord Stream pipelines rendered
200 bcm per year of arm and would go on to serve as vice president inoperable by sabotage, transit capacity via
Russian pipeline gas of Gazprombank. Dmitry Khandoga, currently Ukraine constrained and the Yamal-Europe
flow to Europe was the overseeing Gazprom’s international business, pipeline unable to flow gas westward because
new normal. will become acting director general of Gaz- of sanctions, there is limited prospect of much
prom Export, the company said on its Telegram of this supply returning in the short term. The
channel. EU is also committed to ending Russian gas
Burmistrova has been at the helm of Gaz- imports, and regardless of how events unfold
prom Export since 2014, when she replaced in Ukraine, Moscow’s reputation as a reliable
Alexander Medvedev. She was also appointed to supplier has been significantly tarnished.
the board of Gazprom and its deputy chairman Gazprom Export also faces arbitration
in 2019. proceedings filed by a number of European
The managerial challenges come after Gaz- gas buyers that lost their Russian supply last
prom’s pipeline gas exports to Europe have year, including Germany’s Uniper and France’s
plummeted over the past year to only 10-15% Engie.
of the pre-war level, depriving the company of Gazprombank is yet to confirm Burmistro-
much of its main source of revenue. Burmistrova va’s new position. It is the largest Russian bank
presided over Gazprom Export when its pipeline not to be targeted by Western sanctions, partly
gas exports hit a record high of over 200 bcm in because of the critical role it plays in handling
2018 – a level which she declared would be the payments for gas supplies from Gazprom’s
“new reality” for the company. remaining customers.
Gazprom’s exports to countries outside the The UK blacklisted Burmistrova and eight
former Soviet Union nearly halved last year to other board members of Gazprom as part of its
101 bcm, despite a doubling of shipments to latest sanctions package in late February. ™

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