Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a video address to mark the 31st anniversary of the founding of national energy giant Gazprom, at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, on Feb. 17.Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, the West has imposed thousands of sanctions on Russian businesses, exports and prominent individuals who are considered the warmongering lapdogs of President Vladmir Putin.
Gazprom’s shares have plunged on the Moscow stock exchange. In 2021, the year before the invasion, its end-of-year market value was US$109-billion. Today, it’s about US$40-billion. At one point in recent years, Gazprom was one of the most valuable listed companies on the planet. Today, it’s worth less than a tenth of ExxonMobil. Canada’s Suncor Energy has a higher value than Gazprom.
Gas prices doubled, then kept doubling to the point they reached 10 times the pre-2022 levels, crippling energy-intensive industries such as steel and glass The painfully high gas prices in 2022 and into 2023 naturally triggered demand destruction as households turned down the heat and factories cut back production. Two unusually warm winters in a row helped a lot. The relatively high temperatures kept gas storage levels from plummeting.