Alexander Medvedev: 'We'll Be a $1 Trillion Company'.(International Edition; THE LAST WORD)(Gazprom)(Interview)

Byline: Michael Freedman

Not long ago, Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom was among the world's largest companies in terms of market capitalization, and as it grew so did the perception--fervently denied by company executives--that it was an arm of the Kremlin and that its goals were as much geopolitical as commercial. NEWSWEEK's Michael Freedman met recently with Alexander Medvedev, Gazprom's deputy chief executive, to discuss the economic crisis, the Ukraine gas dispute and foreign investment in the Russian energy sector. Excerpts:

Freedman: The last time we met, in London in 2006, Gazprom executives were saying the company could hit a $1 trillion market cap, and Gazprom had big plans for expansion. Have those plans been scaled back in the current environment?

Medvedev: Let's start with the $1 trillion: if we believe that the stock exchanges around the world will come back to the normal way of reflecting the real value of companies, not the speculative value, we are sure that Gazprom, which was undervalued before the crisis and heavily undervalued during the crisis, with all the fundamentals we have in place today, will be in the position to reach the $1 trillion figure even if the dollar depreciates.

By when?

It will take more time, but after we come out from the economic crisis it's still the same. The time to overcome the crisis, plus five to seven years.

What kind of oil prices did you plan for?