Russia's state-controlled gas firm OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) may increase its production of liquified natural gas and send less gas to Europe, the company said late Wednesday in a warning to the European Union over its recent deal with Ukraine.
"In an increasingly globalized LNG market and with a substantial increase in transit risks and when documents ignoring Russia's interests are signed, we need to review our LNG strategy and to analyze whether to start new projects," Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller said.
Last week, Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sharply criticized an agreement signed between the E.U. and Ukraine to upgrade the latter's gas pipeline system.
Putin called the deal "unprofessional" and questioned why Russia, which ships 80% of its European gas exports through Ukraine and supplies a quarter of Europe's gas needs, wasn't consulted.
Gazprom has repeatedly stated it wants to be a world player in the LNG market. So far, Russia has only one LNG project, located on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East.