Centrica shares soar amid Gazprom bid speculation

The British utility firm Centrica today saw its share price jump amid renewed speculation about a takeover bid from Gazprom.
Centrica shares were up 2.8% at 310.75p in afternoon trading, having previously increased by as much as 5%.
The surge followed a report in the Financial Times that said Tony Blair would not block a future Gazprom bid for the UK company.
Yesterday, the Russian gas giant - which is worth more than BP following a leap in its share price today - reiterated its interest in buying Centrica.

The way now seems to be clear for a Gazprom bid because, the FT reported, Mr Blair believes Britain must stick by its commitment to free up EU energy markets.
The PM reportedly told allies that any Gazprom bid for Centrica should be left to Britain's competition authorities, and the government should not resort to legislation to block a deal.
Alexander Medvedev, the Gazprom deputy chief executive, told the BBC that the trade and industry minister, Alan Johnson, had told him reports saying he wanted to legislate to block a bid had misinterpreted his position.
Earlier this month, the FT reported that Mr Johnson had held several meetings this year on how to block a potential takeover of Centrica.
Gazprom - the world's fourth-biggest publicly traded company after Exxon Mobil, General Electric and Microsoft - has set alarm bells ringing in the west amid fears it is not a normal commercial firm.
It has not helped its cause with some heavy-handed statements, including saying western attempts to limit its expansion "will not lead to good results".
The billionaire George Soros today joined the debate over Russia's growing role in world energy markets and the possibility that the Kremlin would use companies such as Gazprom for political means.
"Europe is relying, for a large portion of energy supplies, on a country that does not hesitate to use its monopoly power in devious and arbitrary ways," he said in today's FT.
Gazprom, which extracts one-fifth of the world's gas, cut shipments to Ukraine in January in a dispute over prices.
The dispute affected deliveries to EU countries including Italy, Hungary and France, lending fresh urgency to EU efforts to forge a common energy policy.
Created from the Soviet gas ministry in 1991, Gazprom wants to expand by buying stakes in retail companies delivering gas to consumers. It supplies a quarter of Europe's gas and holds 16% of the world's known reserves.
Its gas output of 547.2bn cubic metres last year is equivalent to 9.42m barrels of oil a day, around the same as oil ouput from Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil supplier.
While western critics point to Gazprom's monopoly status, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, defended it today.
"We know very well that we often run into unfair competition on world markets," he said. "Despite large demand for energy resources, they try to use any reason to limit us, either to the north, to the south or to the west."On Guardian UnlimitedMore business newsUseful linksCentricaGazprom