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Gazprom shrugs off Eni takeover talk



By Upstream staff 

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has rubbished media speculation that it was planning to take over Italian player Eni.

"No, there are no such plans. We have never had such talks," a Gazprom spokesman told Reuters after S&P Marketwatch had quoted unsubstantiated rumours from various financial sources that a buyout was possible.

Italy is Gazprom's second biggest customer after Germany outside the former Soviet Union, relying on Russia for around 22 billion cubic metres of gas per year.

Almost all of these volumes are bought by Eni, which makes it the world's largest single buyer of Russian gas. The Italian company also holds a 50% stake in the Gazprom-operated Blue Stream gas pipeline.

Last year, the companies signed a deal under which Gazprom was allowed to sell gas directly to Italian end-users as it seeks to boost its revenues.

This year, Eni and fellow Italian player Enel bought ArcticGas and Urengoil, Siberian gas production units of bankrupt producer Yukos, and a 20% stake in Gazprom's oil arm Gazprom Neft.


Tuesday, 10 July, 2007, 10:21 GMT  | last updated: Tuesday, 10 July, 2007, 11:10 GMT

No interest: gazprom has denied rumours it is considering taking over Italian producer Eni
 

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