Gazprom held its 11th annual Investor Day in New York on February 1, 2016, and the Russian gas producer’s senior management also took part in the CERA Week conference in Houston on February 24.

Prominent high-ranking Gazprom executives took part in the Investment Day presentation, including Gazprom’s deputy management committee chairman Alexander Medvedev, management committee members Oleg Aksyutin and Vsevolod Cherepanov, department head Mikhail Sirotkin, first deputy department head Igor Shatalov, deputy chief accountant Mikhail Rosseev, as well as heads of the gas giant’s subsidiaries Gazprom Neft, Gazprom Export, and Gazprom Energoholding.

In New York, the Investor Day was attended by around 70 portfolio managers and analysts from major international investment funds and credit institutions. Gazprom’s similar event in London held on February 4 gathered some 130 people. Analysts from the leading investment banks, such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citibank, Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Société Générale, Raiffeisenbank, VTB Capital, and Gazprombank were in the audience.

Gazprom’s senior management provided detailed information on the company’s operational and financial performance, its activities in the export markets, and strategic development areas. The presenters accorded special attention to the plans for the diversification of gas supply to foreign consumers in the Asia-Pacific countries.

The meetings with investors highlighted the fact that despite the challenges the global oil and gas industry faces, Gazprom was able to keep its strong financial position. This resulted from the implementation of a well-conceived strategy, which was based on conservative budgeting, clear prioritization of investment projects, strict control over costs, and effective debt management. Important factors include the prevalence of the rouble in the company’s operating and capital costs, as well as the low production cost for the hydrocarbons extracted.

While in Houston, Alexander Medvedev expressed to an audience of several hundred energy industry executives his optimism about the future of gas, which he called a “triple-A fuel” and “the fuel of the next century.” According to Medvedev, by 2020, global demand for gas will increase by 70 billion cubic meters. He stated that Gazprom’s massive gas reserves, large cash balances, and a low level of leverage give the company “unrivaled fundamentals,” as it moves forward in an increasingly competitive environment. New pipeline projects, such as the expansion of Nord Stream in Europe and the Power of Siberia in China, show – in the words of Medvedev – that Gazprom is “putting our money where our mouth is” by supporting future market expansion.

Gazprom is the world’s biggest gas company. The Russian Federation is Gazprom’s controlling shareholder.

The IFRS net profits of Gazprom in the nine-month period from January to September 2015 grew 21 percent to RUB673.904 billion (USD9.892 billion) from RUB572.654 (USD8.407 billion) billion the year before. Sales revenues increased by five percent to RUB4.206 trillion (USD62 billion) from RUB4.008 trillion (USD59 billion) the year before. Net revenues from gas sales went up nine percent to RUB2.273 trillion (USD59 billion). Net revenues from gas sales to Europe and other countries increased by 17 percent to RUB1.43 trillion (USD21 billion).