Gazprom Forced To Sell Property After Massive Losses

(NewsSpace.com) – When Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine, ignoring the threats from the West, he brought down a host of sanctions on himself, his country, and high-ranking officials. One of those sanctions involved Russian oil exports, which were severely limited in the wake of his war on his neighboring country. While many European nations couldn’t cut off supplies immediately, they eventually did, and the impact on Gazprom, the Kremlin-owned gas company, has been catastrophic.

Europe Sanctions Oil

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the West imposed several immediate sanctions. The European Union (EU) called for a ban on Russian-supplied oil, which it finally followed through with later that year. Crude oil was banned in December 2022 and two months later, it banned petroleum product sales from Russia as well. Then, it published plans to end its reliance on the invading country, including the purchase of coal, natural gas, and oil, by 2027.

Those bans have led to Gazprom’s first annual loss in more than 20 years — and it’s a whopper of a decline.

Gazprom Records Net Loss of $7 Billion

Until last year, Gazprom was Russia’s largest company in terms of revenue, and the world’s largest natural gas company that was listed publicly. However, it posted its first loss since 1999 earlier this month. That loss was 629 billion Rubles ($6.9 billion). Its core profit took a huge dive from $25.1 billion to $7.2 billion.

Western sanctions are to blame, along with gas prices falling due to sluggish demand, mild weather, and full inventories. Putin once planned to make Europe dependent on Russian oil, but that’s no longer the case. As a result of its substantial losses, Gazprom has had to make some financial moves, including selling off some of its properties.

Fire Sale Listed on Telegram

In a post on Telegram, Gazprom listed several properties that it intends to sell to help recoup costs and mitigate losses. This includes office buildings and office space, as well as a property parking complex, the Imperial Park Hotel and Spa Sanatorium and resort complex located near Moscow. It listed two phone numbers for those interested in seeing or purchasing any of the properties.

Berlin-based energy and geopolitical analyst, Tom O’Donnell, spoke with Newsweek and said the oil company “is engaged in a fire sale” after having its “worst year in decades.” He called the entire situation “a result of a miscalculation by Putin.”