LONDON, May 21 (RIA Novosti's Alexander Smotrov) - By 2010 Russia's gas monopolist Gazprom intends to account for 20% of Great Britain's gas imports. Top managers of Gazprom's branch in the United Kingdom, Gazprom Marketing & Trading, announced this at the Friday press conference in the new office of the company's British branch in Kingston-on-Thames near London.
"By 2010 Gazprom is to account for 20% of Britain's gas imports and for 10% of the British market on the whole," chairman of the Gazprom Marketing & Trading board Yuri Komarov said.
Gazprom's export branch entered the British market in 1999. According to Gazprom Marketing & Trading head Vitaly Vasilyev, the company sold 3.4 billion cubic meters of gas last year.
In the future these rates will be increased following the construction of the North European gas pipeline, partly passing along the Baltic seabed from Russia to Germany to be attached to the present gas transportation systems of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Great Britain.
Gazprom believes that if this project is a success it may build a gas pipeline of its own in Northern European countries. "Everything will depend on capacity. There is no need of building a new pipeline if the existing ones have nothing to be filled with. But I do not rule out that an additional gas pipeline can be built if necessary," said member of the Gazprom board and Gazexport general director Alexander Medvedev.
According to him, Gazprom's export strategy has changed orientation from countries to regions. This is why not only Great Britain but also Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and, possibly, Scandinavian countries are now in the Gazprom Marketing & Trading zone of interests.
Asked whether or not his company is going to build its own gas storages in Britain, Vitaly Vasilyev answered in the affirmative.
"Our company should have gas reserves and storages of its own in order to ensure stable deliveries," he said.
