OREANDA-NEWS. Pavel Zavalny, head of the State Duma Energy Committee, told NEWS.ru on the sidelines of the National Oil and Gas Forum that by the end of 2021, Gazprom shareholders will be able to count on dividends. According to him, the financial condition of the company allows counting on this, including because the export volumes of gas this year practically do not fall.

Of course, there will be [payment of dividends]. I myself am a shareholder of Gazprom and I really hope for high dividends, because Gazprom made a record profit last year,” Zavalny stressed.

As the author of the Lazy Investor Telegram channel Anton Vesenniy specified to the FINAM portal, Gazprom’s net profit for 2021 amounted to 2.64 trillion rubles, setting a historical record. According to him, at the beginning of the year it was planned to allocate up to one trillion rubles for the payment of dividends. In addition, Gazprom's dividends are in dire need of the budget, which can receive about $7 billion last year.

On the other hand, the payment of dividends is hampered by geopolitical confrontation and possible infrastructure costs associated with the redirection of oil and gas supplies to the south and east. Energy exports to non-CIS countries from January 1 to April 15, 2022 also turned out to be 26.4% less than in the same period in 2021. According to the expert, this may become a long-term trend, especially in the context of the alleged energy embargo.

Earlier, the management of Severstal refused to recommend to the Board of Directors to pay dividends to shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 due to the current macroeconomic situation. The issue of paying dividends based on the results of the fourth quarter of 2021 is planned to be considered at the annual general meeting of shareholders on May 20.