MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] is not in talks with Centrica shareholders or its management over purchasing the United Kingdom's largest gas-distribution company, the Russian energy giant's chief executive said Friday.
"Gazprom is not holding any talks with Centrica's shareholders or management," Alexei Miller told a news conference.
However, Miller said Gazprom intended to be active abroad. "We are watching companies operating there," he said.
Earlier, Alexander Medvedev, the head of Gazprom's export arm Gazexport, confirmed that the company was also mulling buying Centrica. The U.K. government then said it would not hinder Gazprom's plans.
But British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said in June that the deal was a matter of politics as well as economics.
Centrica operates in the U.K. under the name of British Gas. It is the main retail supplier of natural gas to British consumers. Centrica also has subsidiaries in Europe and Canada. Its own gas reserves in 2005 were 56 billion cu m. The company's market capitalization is around 11 billion pounds sterling ($20 billion).
