Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy group, is seeking to win access to vast energy reserves in Nigeria in a move that will heighten concerns among western governments over its increasingly powerful grip on gas supplies to Europe.

A senior Nigerian oil industry official, who declined to be named, said the company was offering to invest in energy infrastructure in return for the chance to develop some of the biggest gas deposits in the world.

The Russian move is part of a courtship that saw Vladimir Putin writing to Nigeria’s leader, Umaru Yar’Adua, last year to seek energy co-operation.

Gazprom’s efforts are likely to cause concern among European governments anxious about their dependence on Russia for a quarter of gas imports. The country’s readiness to cut off supplies has alarmed EU governments.

“What Gazprom is proposing is mind-boggling,” the Nigerian oil official told the Financial Times. “They’re talking tough and saying the west has taken advantage of us in the last 50 years and they’re offering us a better deal ... They are ready to beat the Chinese, the Indians and the Americans.”

Gazprom representative Ilya Kochevrin confirmed the talks with Nigerian officials. “We made a decision to go global in terms of acquiring assets and developing strategy outside Russia. Africa is one of our priorities,” he said.

Any move by Gazprom to establish itself in Nigeria, long dominated by companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil, would reinforce a global trend of state-backed energy companies challenging western rivals.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ac1749e6-bb13-11dc-9fbc-0000779fd2ac.html

Russia’s moves to tap Nigeria’s huge energy reserves will send shivers through western governments already concerned about a shortage of global gas supplies.

Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy giant, has offered to invest billions of dollars in developing the gas sector in Nigeria, where western majors have traditionally put most of their efforts into extracting oil.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil exporter, is believed to have some of the largest untapped gas reserves in the world.

Gazprom’s move comes at a time when North American and European governments are increasingly turning to gas imports to meet rising demand as domestic production falls.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c1c29812-bd3a-11dc-b7e6-0000779fd2ac.html