Gazprom, Russia's gas monopoly, risks missing export commitments to customers in western Europe if it does not invest enough in transport and production, the International Energy Agency has warned. In a letter to energy ministers of the Group of Seven industrialised countries, the IEA said Gazprom used or lost the equivalent of more than a third of total Russian exports while transporting and distributing supplies in 2004. William Ramsay, IEA deputy executive director, told the FT: "We at the IEA have appreciated the reliability of Russian gas supplies for the last 30 years and expect them to be as reliable in the future.

But we would like to know how they will do that." The letter was in response to a request for advice ahead of last week's Moscow meeting of G8 energy ministers to discuss energy security. Sarah Laitner and Wolfgang Proissl, Brussels; Carola Hoyos, London