Gazprom has approved a 2009 investment program worth 920 billion rubles and hopes to carry it out without additional state assistance. However, the monopoly’s managers and government officials admit that if oil prices fall below $50 per barrel, Gazprom may need direct government support. At a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov last week, one of the options discussed was an additional share issue by the gas monopoly. On Friday, Gazprom’s management board approved the draft investment program and budget for 2009. The state monopoly’s total investment volume will amount to 920.4 billion rubles, of which capital expenditures will account for 699.9 billion rubles and long-term investments for 220.6 billion rubles. According to the draft budget, Gazprom expects revenues of 3.74 trillion rubles and expenditures of 3.8 trillion rubles. Financial borrowing will remain at 90 billion rubles. As Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told Kommersant (a Russian business daily), the company for now plans to finance the investment program on its own, though he did not rule out adjustments to those plans. http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=1090727&NodesID=4 Gazprom and its outrageous management have seriously gotten on my nerves. They need money for their investment programs. The state is supposed to cough up the cash—that is, the taxpayers. And through an additional share issue, no less—a big screw-you to minority shareholders. For some damn reason they bought the idiotic Mosenergo, and now they need money to modernize it. And characteristically, it never occurs to them to sell Gazprom-Media or Schalke 04 (the German football club—or whatever it’s called). But why would it? The budget will pay for everything. Rich country, what the hell.