Philippe Legrain

Jose says:

The UK’s biggest gas distributor is NGT Transco, who owns the gas transporation network and also the gas distribution network (LDZ’s) except for two LDZ’s that it recently sold.
If Gazprom bought Centrica, it would be buying the major gas supplier, but that is another issue, basically it would be buying a customer base along with some power stations, the Morecambe (dwindling) gas field, Rough storage (a regulated business), and some assets in the US.
These customers are free to switch (and have been doing so at a faster rate than usual lately anyway given Centrica’s recent price hikes).
In conclusion I fail to see the logic behind your argument (regarding the security issue of Gazprom buying Centrica), can you please ellaborate a little bit further?

Philippe Legrain says:

I think Putin wants Russia to become Europe’s main supplier of gas in order to exercise leverage over European governments, or to put it less kindly, in order to be able to blackmail them into doing what he wants. Britain is currently immune to such pressure, because we buy no gas from Russia. If Gazprom is allowed to buy Centrica, Russia will doubtless become a major supplier of gas to Britain. It might very well make it financially attractive to do so in the short term, with the ultimate aim of holding Britain to ransom. Note that Gazprom is also interested in buying the only gas pipeline linking Britain to continental Europe.

USARussian says:

There is a far more significant reason for blocking Gazprom from buying Centrica, the simple one is that the Russian government blocks most cross-border mergers, i.e. if they will not allow us access to their markets why should we grant them access. There was an excellent article in Vedomosti on the 27th of June about this.
The most obvious reason for Gazprom (being a state-owned monopoly) wanting to dominate the European gas chain is to exert political pressure on those dependent on its gas – because Russia has no other means to do so – it is piss weak country (the armed forces currently occupied with trying to enforce the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation), the economy is more dependent on European money than the Europeans are dependent on Russian natural resources (Russian cannot at present sell them to anyone else because they have not invested in the infrastructure to do so, they have not invested in their own internal infrastructure so the likely event is that they will be unable to honour their current committments anyway (still as stuipid as the commies) – so fuck ’em). What’s more they are dependent on Western Technology to exploit their reserves because they are so useless at developing technology (apart from military tech, but their training is so poor it would not matter if this tech was the best in world they wouldn’t be able to use it effectively). Their economy is still a mess. despite this being hidden by the export of natural resources (which accounts for 85% of Russia’s GDP) – inflation is consistantly running above 10%!!! You can see Russia as a new Saudi, but with far less powerful friends – trying to punch above it station because they think they deserve it – when in reality they deserve little more other than to be ridiculed and ignored.
All the real talent in Russia left it years ago.. What’s left is useless bureaucrats and petty minded, corrupt society.

Bob Vucen says:

Dear Phillipe,
Your article is explicitely showing a very typical way of thinking here in the UK.
You would like to “globalise economies of whole the world”. You would like to have again colonies from where you can legally take out everything you want (not need necessarily – but want). You would like Britans to “manage the world” and to run their politics and slaves to work.
Eh, Mr Legrain, this is now a past tense and you and your kids will have to pay for (everything) what your grand-grandfathers have done and please be happy, because the times when your children or granchildren will start “paying back” what Tony Blair have done in the name of “democracy” and “better future around the world”, in fact what he has done for American’s 150+ Billion £ pumped every year to British economy.
That bill is going to be a very heavy one Mr Legrain, so that the fact that Britain haven’t got their own Energy industry, but it is Centrica, EDF, RWE, E-on and Gasprom who are transfering British pounds Chinese are taking over British Car industry, Indians are running British Heavy Industry and just starting selling their brains and high quality products to you Phillipe will be negladgibale.
You probably thought that “outsourcing” of the large banking ICT structures and cutting the overheads is a good idea. And as an idea it was not that bad, however every penny British financial and other companies saved by outsourcing will be paid back with at least “50% interest”.
So, Mr Legrain, you are probably very much right thinking as a citizen of powerfull empire, nevertheless the reality will teach you that Mr Roman Abramovic didn’t buy Chelsie because of extraordinary qualitY of their footbalers and BMW haven’t bought british Rover because of great engineers and other employees etc,