Gazprom continues to aim high

The towering ambition of Gazprom’s capex programme is matched only by the height of its controversial new St Petersburg headquarters

On 4 September, Russia's gas export monopoly announced it was hiking its capex for 2018 by 16% to a record 1.5 trillion rubles ($22bn) due to an increased budget for its pipelines to China, Europe and Turkey. That's a 17% jump from the capex figure published by Gazprom's board in December and analysts are now questioning the wisdom of this decision. "Prior guidance for 2018 capex was 1.28 trillion rubles," Luis Saenz, head of equities at BCS Financial, told Petroleum Economist. "This is negative news, especially given its high tax burden and plans for new borrowings." Stretching out to 2025, Gazprom tops the list globally across the oil and gas value chain with $160bn expected to be spent on