Gazprom stays bullish despite demand slump

Gazprom's export plans will not be de-railed by weakening demand

By Derek Brower The 21st century will belong to natural gas, Gazprom's boss said yesterday. But the next couple of years could be tough for exporters to Europe's shrinking market, admitted one of the continent's biggest buyers. In a speech that stressed the stability of his firm's gas-export business, Alexei Miller pledged that Gazprom would push ahead with plans to diversify export routes for gas. He also claimed Russia would export up to 90m tonnes a year of LNG by 2020, equating to 25% of the global market. The first phase of the 55bn cm/y Nord Stream pipeline, targeting Germany, would be on line in 2011, he added, while the 63bn cm/y South Stream project will begin exports to central and