RUSSIAN NATURAL GAS PRODUCER
Gazprom targets $6bn asset sale as export earnings slide
The world’s top natural gas producer remains under pressure as it tries to finance new pipelines to Europe and Asia
Moscow — Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural gas producer, is considering asset sales, freezing dividends and increasing its borrowing as export earnings wane, according to its three-year budget. The state-controlled firm aims to raise 350-billion roubles ($6bn) from asset sales in 2017, while borrowing may climb to 288-billion roubles and more than double from that level in 2018, a copy of the document obtained by Bloomberg shows. Dividend payments are forecast at the 2016 level through 2019, according to the plan, approved by the board in December. Despite a rebound in crude oil, which dictates the price for most of Gazprom’s export contracts, the proposed budget shows the company remains under pressure as it tries to finance new pipelines to Europe and Asia. Gazprom needs to increase borrowing to "ensure liquidity and cover obligations" at oil prices close to current levels, according to the budget. Key Budget Targets No final decision had been made on asset sales, two people wi...
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