Chipping away at Gazprom’s contracts amid falling demand
With demand in its largest market declining, Gazprom is making price concessions to its big European gas customers. Will its passion for oil-indexed prices be next to succumb, asks Kwok W Wan
The continued divergence between oil and gas prices, coupled with lower gas demand, has prompted Gazprom to reduce long-term prices for five large European customers. And the move might not only signal that other customers will see similar concessions, it could also be another blow to the Russian gas monopoly’s desire to maintain oil-indexed gas contracts. Most of Russia’s gas is sold to Europe under long-term, oil-linked price deals. But with North Sea Brent crude prices and those of European gas diverging over the past two years – oil prices have soared, while gas has registered just a small increase – European utilities, forced to buy at higher oil-indexed prices, yet selling at lower spo
Also in this section
18 February 2026
With Texas LNG approaching financial close, Alaska LNG advancing towards a phased buildout and Magnolia LNG positioned for future optionality, Glenfarne CEO Brendan Duval says the coming year will demonstrate how the company’s more focused, owner-operator approach is reshaping LNG infrastructure development in the North America
18 February 2026
The global gas industry is no longer on the backfoot, hesitantly justifying the value of its product, but has greater confidence in gas remaining a core part of the global energy mix for decades
18 February 2026
With marketable supply unlikely to grow significantly and limited scope for pipeline imports, Brazil is expected to continue relying on LNG to cover supply shortfalls, Ieda Gomes, senior adviser of Brazilian thinktank FGV Energia,
tells Petroleum Economist
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
