THE DOWNFALL OF A GIANT [GAS IN TRANSITION]

Russia’s state gas exporter Gazprom felt the full force of the Kremlin’s gas war against Europe in 2023, suffering its first annual loss in more than two decades. The dismal result took analysts by surprise and caused the company’s already-weak stock price to tumble to a new low. Looking forward, a decision is expected this month on whether Gazprom will still pay out dividends, a major source of revenue for the Russian budget. Russian investors will also be hoping that a planned trip by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing in mid-May yields some progress on the stalled Power of Siberia 2 pipeline project. A shadow of its former self Gazprom was for many years Russia…